The Butterfly Effect
by LunarSkies2383
Summary: In her dying thoughts, she made a promise that if she were to be reborn she would be a good girl this time, and as she closed her eyes for the final time her wish was heard. *major spoilers if you didn't read the manga* full summary inside. Please review
1. Death

The Butterfly Effect

Alright this will be my second fic and I hope you all will enjoy what you see.

Also I do not own any part of Elfen Lied or the characters associated with it.

I would also like to point out that Lucy/Nyu real name is Kaede. This fact was only revealed in the manga in the very last chapter of the series.

The setting of this story will take place near the end of the manga as she is dying.

Summary: The butterfly effect is a phenomenon in which by changing one small detail such as the flapping of a butterflies wings it can radically change a chain of events that were either suppose to or not even occur. In this story before a certain Disclonius met her end she makes a promise that if she were to be reborn she would be a good girl this time around. From above a higher power heard her promise and decided to give her that chance.

"talking"

_thoughts_

_

* * *

_

As the military closed on her position ready to destroy all life within the area, Kaede with the last of her strength flexed her vectors in all directions killing all that threatened her position. Although at this point in time it didn't really matter anymore. She was dying because of the increased entropy building up in her body from overuse of her powers. As a side effect this was causing her to fall apart. Even though she still had a chance to save herself she wanted to protect Kohta even more. As she continued to swat down the enemies that approached the tower the more her body turned to goop. Until finally no more enemies came in which all was quiet now.

"_It's . . . . so painful_" thought Kaede as all that was left of her was her hair, skull, one of her eyes, most of her spine, and some of her internal organs including some goopy skin everywhere.

With a little help from her vectors she lifted a gun nearby and gave it to Kohta.

"Please Kohta . . . . end my pain" Kaede barely managed to word out. It was then that Kohta took hold of the weapon and pointed it at her. Although it was quite visible that he was shaking and hesitating about his actions.

"No! I can't do it!" Kohta cried out struggling with the ethical dilemma before him.

"It's . . . . . . OK now . . . . I'm ready to go" Kaede whispered out

As she closed her eyes waiting for the end she made a promise upon her soul as well as for god to hear that if she were to be reborn she would come back as a good girl and live a good life that time around. Just as darkness enveloped the last of her mind a bright light appeared to which swallowed her entire existence. After a moment later a loud voice could be heard. Although it was overwhelming there was a sense of warmth and compassion behind it.

"I have heard you"

Instantly wary of who the voice belonged too Kaede said the one thing most people would usually say during that kind of situation. "Who are you?"

"I am an ancient being who has watched over all existences since the beginning of creation".

After ingesting that information the pink diclonius gathered enough courage to say what she was thinking next. "Are you god?"

The voice chuckled at her response. "By certain perception, some have seen my existence as god while to others I was just a far more advanced state of being".

She was not really satisfied with that answer but chose not press on with it. "What do you want with me?"

"As I said before I heard you and I'm willing to grant your wish".

"What?" she said not entirely sure what the entity was talking about.

"But to be more precise I'll start your life over to the point where it all began" it explained.

Kaede was getting even more confused by the minute because she wasn't sure what the voice meant, but she did know through her life experience that everything came at a price. "What's the catch?"

The voice chuckled again. "The price that needs to be paid is something most dear. In your case the memories and feelings you had for that one person you've held onto for all these years".

A heavy feeling could then be felt at what she must pay. She did not want to sacrifice the one thing she had left of Kohta. Through it all, she can survive harsh words, beatings, torture, or any cruel act humanity could throw at her. However, the thing she could not survive was living without the bonds that had allowed her to survive for so long. But the deal that this entity was offering was just too good to pass up.

"Why must I pay such a price?" she then asked, but more so pleading.

"Because you have nothing else to pay with" the voice simply said to which Kaede was then taken back. "And furthermore with this final act of suffering you shall be reborn again"

The horned girl thought about the offer carefully as she weighed out the costs and benefits.

"Will I . . . . Will I be able to meet Kohta again?"

"What I'm offering is that I will change certain key events in your life which will basically revolutionize your existence as a whole. For this new timeline will restart at the point where these series of events began in your life. Of course I will also need to wipe out your memories in order to avoid any possible paradoxes from misaligning the new reality. Furthermore . . . "

"But will I meet Kohta again?" shouted Kaede in a desperate tone while interrupting the all powerful entity.

The voice stayed quiet for a moment before continuing. "I can't make promises, but I will say that if destiny wanted you two to meet. Then it will happen one day."

Kaede thought this through at least a hundred times with hundreds of scenarios playing throughout her mind until she decided on what she wanted to do. "OK, I'll do it" she choked out.

As she thought out each of the possibilities she still held out one single hope. The hope that when she was reborn she could meet Kohta again. Even if destiny wasn't on her side or her memories weren't able to guide her back to him, she held out the hope that her soul would still remember him.

"Very well, it shall be done" said the entity

As fast as that all occurred was as fast as it all ended. Kaede immediately found herself in pain again. For she had just returned to the final moments of her death. As this was occurring she could only think that her conversation from before was all just wishful thinking from a person who was about to die. As the darkness took her she looked before the man in front of her. The man appeared to be holding her while crying and shaking still calling out one of her names, but the only thought that came to her mind was . . . .

"_Who is this man in front of me? And why am I crying? . . . ._" and a moment later the woman that Kohta knew as Nyu had died in his arms.

"Nyu!" screamed Kohta as fresh new tears came falling out, and soon Yuka, Mayu, and Nana joined in to the event that had just transpired.

In the crack of dawn a young pink haired girl with horns awoke within her bed. She thought about the weird dream she had that night with so many people trying to kill her and the people she was trying to protect as this was happening. She then shrugged it off since it was only a dream and it was far to surreal to be anything else. So then she sat up on her bed to look outside her window. Outside the window of the orphanage she lived in there was a vast forest that could be seen for miles. The facility was stationed on hill practically in the middle of nowhere in relation to an urban area. As she stared at the dawning sun she was preparing herself for the course of the day.

Kaede sighed, "_well let's get this crappy day over with_"

To be continued . . . .

* * *

Authors' notes: I hope everyone understood this chapter. If you didn't then the last chapter of the manga series plus a few chapters near the end of the manga series should clear everything up. Anyways I hope you all had an OK time thus far.

So now I thank you all for reading this fic and also extend my further gratitude if you can review it as well. Also as a warning I'll be bringing up a lot things that happened in the manga that did not happen in the anime. So I'm just saying this will be one heck of a spoiler if you didn't read the manga.


	2. Rebirth

Chapter 2: Rebirth

Summary: (sort of) As I said before if you only seen the anime then you are in for a spoiler that the manga only revealed. In addition from the previous chapter the entity changed key moments in her life from the day her powers began to manifest. But on this day Kaede will have a meeting with someone she never thought she would ever have a chance to meet.

(VERY IMPORTANT): I don't quite remember the first part of this scene from the anime/manga that well, and I don't want to review it either because it broke my heart to read it and watch it the first time. So I do apologize for how rough it will be if people remember this scene better.

Also I do not own Elfen Lied or any characters associated with it.

"talking"

_thoughts_

_

* * *

_

As Kaede got up that morning she began to review her life since the time she could even remember. As far as she knew she was always an orphan. She summed it up to the fact that her parents probably didn't want her. "_I mean just look at me_" thought Kaede. The two horns on her head were things that made her the center of detest. Not only the kids in the orphanage picked on her, but also the adults seemed to be distant from her as well. With these facts she came to the conclusion that her parents probably viewed her as a freak and discarded her to avoid the shame of having her.

She then thought about her life in the orphanage at this present time. She signed when she thought about it. In her perspective it was a hellish existence because three boys in particular would always pick on her because of her **'**appearance**'**. These three boys would do everything in their power to make her suffer from putting garbage and bugs into her backpack to dumping food and cold water on her during anytime they could.

But all she did during these times was endure the best she could. She believed that karma would repay her patience if she just continued to wait it out.

Then one day out in the woods her karma was rewarded when she met her first friend after taking a heavy abuse that day from the three pricks. In front of her was a puppy to which she treasured more than anything in the world.

For the course of that short time she took care of that puppy with all the love she had for it. Then karma came before her again when she finally made a friend with one of the girls in the orphanage. With this excitement, she eagerly introduced her new friend to the puppy she had. Kaede took solace from the two friends she had. Although she knew those jerks would try to hurt her again, she found new strength to endure more. But now on this day, if someone were to tell her that her life was going to radically change for the better she would have never believed it since stories like that never happen.

As she got up and prepared herself for the course of the day with her usual white blouse shirt and red skirt. She then took her backpack and went out to the main dining area to receive her breakfast. Afterwards she made her way to class and began her academics the same way they always do. The school system she was in was all home schooled to which all her fellow orphans were in the same class taught by one of the adults who worked in the facility.

All was good around lunchtime since she didn't find any surprises in her backpack, but she also didn't see those jerks around. It was strange but she didn't think much it.

As class resumed the three boys returned with sneers on their face as they looked to her. Kaede then had a bad feeling but didn't think too much of it. As mid noon drew near with classes ending, she felt a bit of dread since this was the usual time they would come and bother her. Finally as class ended she cleaned up her area and quickly tried to leave but was immediately stopped by them.

"Where do you think you're going?" Takeshi sneered.

Immediately one of his friends pulled her into a full Nelson locking her in place so she couldn't go anywhere. Kaede could have resisted but as past experiences showed it was futile to try and go anywhere. So she simply stood there and waited for whatever they were going to dish out to her.

"You seem a lot happier lately" Takeshi sneered again.

"It's none of your business" Kaede replied back dully.

She knew this agitated the little bastard and she knew her resistance and indifference would only cause them to be harsher. But she really wasn't in the mood to care today as she just wanted them to hurry up and be done with it so she can move on to something else.

"We'll see about that" Takeshi said while giving a sick smile.

At that moment Kaede's heart tightened at hearing the distressed yelps of a small puppy.

Then from the door, one of the boys that hung around her abuser entered the room with her dog in hand.

"What are you doing with him? Let him go!" Kaede cried out as she stared in horror of what was going to happen.

"We'll show you to stand up to us" laughed Takeshi.

"How did you even know about him?" she choked out on the verge of tears.

As if to answer her question the **'**friend**'** she made the day before entered the room. She looked towards Kaede with a soft smile, but reflected that of malicious intent. Her heart then felt like it was going to explode followed with her guts falling out. She couldn't believe her 'friend' would do this to her, and more so then that display such a cruel inhumane act of betrayal.

"It was you?" Kaede half choked out.

"Yes it was" Rika said while still displaying her soft smile.

"Why? Why did you do this?" she half yelled as her eyes turned slightly red threatening for tears to spill out.

"That's simple, I find you disgusting and it was laughable that you would think I would be your friend" smiled Rika coldly.

The pink diclonius now frantically struggled trying to rescue her small firend. "Let him go!" she shouted in both rage and plea.

However everyone was deriving great pleasure from her suffering.

But now in Kaede's perspective, this all felt strangely like déjà vu to her and she couldn't help but feel that things were going to get worse.

Just as she thought, to boost their sick euphoria, the puppy was then held down by Takeshi's friend as he himself grabbed a vase nearby.

Her gut wrenching feeling increased as she saw what they were going to do. The sadistic boy then knelt down raising the vase above his head ready to strike the defenseless animal. As she watched this all occur time appeared to have slowed down as everything was beginning to become burned into her memory.

As Takeshi prepared to swing his weapon, she felt an ugly feeling begin to stir. The second she saw his arm swing down that ugly feeling wanted to explode. But then . . . .

"What the hell are you doing?"

All occupants of the room then turned to look at the door to find two adult women. One of them being one of the caretakers of the orphanage while the other was an absolute stranger to them. But as she stared, Kaede felt some sort of weird resonance with this stranger.

Upon entering the caretaker quickly apprehended the little bastard by grabbing his arm which held the vase while half threatening and yelling at the other boy to let the animal go. The puppy immediately got up and ran towards Kaede. Meanwhile the other adult looking furious made the other boy release her. As she was released she made her way to Rika and slapped her hard across the face.

"Don't ever show yourself to me again" Kaede quietly threatened.

Rika held her face with a bit of shock, but then looked back with the same calm as before. "Don't worry, I'll keep my distance from a disgusting creature like you" still maintaining that creepy smile.

After sorting out the mess in the room the horned girl took the puppy into her arms while standing on one side of the room with the stranger. The other four orphans were with the caretaker getting an ass beating both verbally and physically with a ruler.

"You dare do such a thing inside this orphanage!" yelled the caretaker hitting one of the boys on the leg.

"Ahhh" he screamed.

"and more so to a defenseless animal!" said the caretaker hitting Takeshi this time. He yelped out in pain.

"I'm sorry OK!"

The caretaker then hit the next boy over. "and holding a girl like that, what kind of boy are you!"

"I was just doing as they said".

"And you for doing such a cruel thing" the caretaker then said while hitting Rika. But she did not react, she did not flinch, nor did she care. She simply stood there and took it.

"Now get out of here!" screamed the caretaker while pointing her ruler towards the door. The four immediately got out. But not before mouthing that they would get Kaede back later and badly.

She cringed at this while remembering the events that had just unfolded moments ago. The stranger then put her hand on her shoulder while smiling down at her. Kaede noted what the woman looked like. The adult had long brown hair which was tied up into a high ponytail. She also had two long bangs which framed her face nicely. Now her face was rather beautiful in its simplicity. Her eyes were brown with a slight tint of red. She also had average appearing skin which bordered between pale and tanned, and she wore a simple white dress shirt with a blue business skirt while also holding a black purse. But what really got her interest was the unusual calm she felt from the stranger since it was unnatural to her. Furthermore she had this feeling as if she should know who this person was. After a few moments of staring the caretaker walked in front of her, knelt down, and placed her hands on her shoulder.

"Kaede, I have a surprise for you" the caretaker said softly.

"What?" said Kaede a bit roughly then she meant. Unlike everyone else in the facility who kept their distance from her, this specific caretaker displayed sympathy at every turn she could. However she understood to a degree that she had to keep a professional distance at all times.

"There's a special person here to meet you" said the caretaker.

"You mean this lady" answered Kaede as she looked up at the stranger.

"Yes, for you see Kaede . . . . ".

"What?" she asked slightly feeling the anticipation.

"This woman here is your mother".

Kaede then looked up in shock at the said lady. The woman returned her shock with the smile she still had on earlier. She then pushed the ladies hand off as she bolted for the door and continued running until she was in the forest. As she ran she heard the woman's voice from behind attempting to chase after her.

"Kaede wait . . . ." she called as the sound faded the further Kaede got.

To be continued . . . .

* * *

Authors' notes: In the original manga story, Lucy/Nyu/Kaede learns that her mother did try to find her but Kakuzawa found her mother instead and "did things" to her. Anyways because of this part I decided to have it that her mother did find her. But what happens next we will have to see.

So I thank you all for reading my fic and I further extend my gratitude if you can review it as well.


	3. Beginnings

Chapter 3: Beginnings

Synopsis: How will Kaede deal with the truth of the women that has appeared before her? Furthermore, how will this knowledge affect her future?

If anyone is wondering I won't make it that easy for Kaede to have a happy ending and furthermore there is still Kakuzawa organization that will appear later. Plus she will still run into some ethical problems later on.

As a reminder I do not own Elfen Lied or any characters associated with it.

"talking"

_thoughts_

_

* * *

_

As Kaede ran deep into the forest her mind continued to race with the information she had just learned. For the woman that appeared before her moments ago claimed to have been her mother. Now she knew any child in an orphanage would be thrilled to have their parents come get them or at least have the chance to know them. However she couldn't accept that truth. She was a hideous child, and for that her parents had forsaken her. It was self-evident from how most people reacted around her because of her horns. Although in her heart she was happy that her birth mother came to find her. She couldn't accept that things were this easy. No, she wouldn't accept that things were this easy.

After a good deal of running she finally felt her legs give out. So she decided to rest at a tree nearby to catch her breath and rethink everything that has happened thus far. Kaede sat up in the fetal position while hugging her puppy close. The dog whimpered sensing Kaede's sorrow and tried to cheer her up. However she simply looked down as her bangs shaded her eyes while repeating a thought to herself.

"_It can't be true, it can't be true, it can't be true, it can't be true_" she thought frantically over and over again.

As her thought process continued, a figure was approaching her quietly trying not to startle the young girl.

"Kaede . . . ." the voice said softly .

The horned girl gasped at the sudden voice and backed away from the tree while looking at the direction it came from.

"What do you want?" asked Kaede defensively.

"I wanted to see if you were OK" the woman replied.

She paused for a moment before asking her next question. "How did you know I was here?"

"Psychic powers" the woman said jokingly trying to break the tense atmosphere.

"Seriously!" Kaede then demanded.

"Well I guess you can say it was mothers' instincts" the woman smiled.

The young diclonius instantly cringed at that word. "Mother?" Kaede said venomously. "I don't have mother!" she screamed at the top of her lungs.

The woman was taken aback by the outburst. She then had a sad look on her face. "Please let me explain" she pleaded.

Kaede was angered even more by this. She didn't want to hear her excuse or whatever reason she had for abandoning her. She immediately got up with her puppy and started to run. But before she managed to get any distance the elder women grabbed her arm. Kaede struggled to break free from her, but then was struck frozen from what she heard next.

"I didn't want to give you up!" the woman said with tears beginning to form.

Kaede looked back at the lady. "What do you mean?" still a bit angry from before.

"I didn't want to give you up. You were taken from me when you were a baby. The moment you were gone I went to look for you" the woman explained with tears starting to roll down her cheek.

Although Kaede settled a bit she was still feeling steamed about the situation. "I don't believe you" she responded with her eyes shaded under her bangs. One of her fists then started to clench very tightly threatening to bleed.

"Please believe me, I never wanted to let you go" the woman pleaded again.

The pink diclonius clenched her fist even tighter. "Then explain why I was abandoned?"

The woman was again taken back by the outburst. "I . . . . I can't tell you".

"Why not? I deserve that much don't I?" screamed Kaede again.

Fresh new tears began to form in the women's eyes. "Please understand" the woman begged getting on her knees while holding Kaede shoulders. "You're not ready to hear that yet".

Kaede was not satisfied with that answer. She wanted to know why everything up till now has happened the way it is. "I want to know now!"

"Please . . . . just for now . . . . understand that I'm your mother and that I love you". She then embraced her daughter into a hug to which she responded by stiffening up her body.

The child's eyes then began to redden at the action. "I don't believe you".

"I love you Kaede" the women said embracing the little girl tighter.

"I don't believe you" Kaede slightly sniffled out as a tear rolled down her cheek.

"I love you Kaede" the women said again with more determination.

"I don't believe you" she then said with a stutter now as more tears began to fall.

"I love you Kaede" the women said with more passion holding her daughter tighter now.

"I . . . . don't . . . . . believe you" Kaede choked out with tears now beginning to pour from her eyes.

"Kaede . . . I love you" the women said in a whisper this time.

"I . . . . I . . . .". But she couldn't get the words out anymore. For she was at the peak of how much she could handle. Her mental barriers barely managing to keep her feelings in. With the words the women said to her repeating in her mind constantly echoing the same three words she always wanted to hear 'I love you'. Her mental barriers instantly shattered pouring out all that she had endured till now.

Her anger towards the women instantly turned to sadness from all that she had been through in her life. Fresh tears began pouring out of her eyes as she embraced the woman in front of her. Kaede buried her face into her chest as she cried aloud with all the sorrow she had accumulated through the years. The woman then wrapped her arms around her daughters head and back to fully embrace her as she too began to cry on her daughters shoulder.

The two continued to cry and hug each other in search of the warmth and comfort they sought from each other. Some time later those tears of sadness they shed became tears of joy as they felt that complete feeling as they opened their hearts to each other.

Hours passed as the two held each other. Around mid evening the two parted. Although there was silence between them it wasn't that uncomfortable kind, but one of understanding until the women broke the silence.

"Cheer up now, girls are prettier when they smile" the woman smiled although her eyes were still puffy and red from the event moments ago.

Kaede gave a bit of a choked laugh at this. "You should talk" as she rubbed her eyes. She then hesitantly thought about the question she wanted to ask her.

"What . . . what do I call you?"

"Hmm?" the woman said a bit surprised at the question, but then settled into a smile. "If you can, I would like it if you can call me mother."

Kaede froze a bit at this word. The woman sensing her discomfort then added "If not, then you can call me Mikomi or if you want to be more formal Mrs. Hikaru"

Kaede took solace in the two things she heard. First was the fact of what her last name was. This gave her a greater sense of identity to who she was as a person. The second was this woman's name. Her name meant "hope", and that was something she had been waiting all her life for. However she was still hesitant to call this women mother, and not to sound rude she decided to be formal towards her.

"OK, Mrs. Hikaru" Kaede said.

Mikomi felt a little down that she wasn't being called mother, but she took consolation that at least her daughter acknowledged her existence. She then got up and took her daughters hand. "Should we go back now?"

"OK" replied Kaede as she gripped her hand

The two then proceeded their way back to the orphanage. By the time they arrived their facial features were back to normal showing very little sign of crying. After reaching their destination Mikomi led Kaede inside the building towards the main office where they met the female caretaker from before.

"If you were gone any longer we would had to have called a manhunt" joked the caretaker.

Mikomi and Kaede chuckled at this. "We weren't that far away so it wouldn't have been necessary."

After the light chat the caretaker then turned to the pink haired girl. "Well I guess this is goodbye then."

"What?" asked Kaede confused at the sudden statement.

"Your mother has come to take you home now".

The horned girl then looked to Mikomi to which she responded with a smile. She then looked back to the caretaker who also had a smile on.

"What do mean?" she asked wishing for more clarification.

"Well before your mother came here she needed to go through some legal channels to get you back, and so after that was concluded she came straight here to get you" the caretaker explained.

"But of course you don't have to come with me right away. You can stay here until you are comfortable with the idea of living with me" Mikomi quickly added in.

Kaede didn't really need to think twice about this. After the events that had occurred today with Takeshi and Rika she was more than reluctant to leave now.

"I guess this is goodbye then".

"But know that you are more than welcomed to come back and visit whenever you like" smiled the caretaker. She then got up around the desk and hugged the pink diclonius. The young girl was for a lack of better words shocked towards the expression of affection, but she eventually returned her hug with her own.

"Thank you" Kaede whispered out.

"Anytime" the caretaker said.

Mikomi stared softly at the interaction and was glad someone was there to look after her child when she couldn't. After the hug was over they said their farewells and proceeded to exit the building. Kaede holding her puppy in one arm and her other hand with Mikomi followed right beside her. During this time there were many other children and adults walking around in the area. As she walked by each of them she could see them mouth something directly or indirectly to her.

"So someone chose the monster."

"Huh, the freak is finally leaving."

"So the 'thing' is going somewhere else now."

Although these words did bother her, she didn't care anymore since she now had a place to call home. But before she came to the exit there stood Takeshi, his two friends, and Rika around the cross hallway leading to the exit. Mikomi recognizing the children from earlier glared at them, and judging from her daughter's reaction to them it wasn't the first time this has happened. If she could, she wanted to drill some respect and obedience into them. But more importantly she wanted to take her daughter away from this place.

Unaware to Mikomi, Kaede saw what they were trying to say to her which went . . . .

"You'll be back here soon enough."

"No one can stand a freak like you."

"We'll get you back eventually."

She slightly flinched but blocked out most of it as she followed Mikomi out the door. For in her eyes that door was the door of new beginnings. Although she was happy she couldn't explain this overwhelming joy that flooded her. It was as if a horrible mistake had been averted and everything has finally been made right.

Now both mother and daughter walked down the forest trail to her car to which they both got in. But before Mikomi started the vehicle she asked her occupant a question.

"So what's his name?" Mikomi said softly while smiling towards the passenger side.

"Who?" Kaede asked not certain of what was being asked.

"The puppy silly".

"Oh", but she never quite got around to naming the pup since she only had him for a while. She gave it some thought, and for some reason a certain name came to mind. It was weird to her to give this dog that name so she pushed it aside. Although it still bothered her that name kept hanging onto the edge of her consciousness. After a short while she had decided.

"Kohta ".

"Hmm?"

"I want to name him Kohta" she repeated.

Mikomi blinked at this, but then gave a bit of a chuckle. "Interesting name, but OK". She then started the car and then proceeded to exit the area. As the car got further and further away Kaede looked back at the orphanage which got smaller and smaller. She simply waved her hand goodbye to the place as she made her final farewell to her past life.

Kaede soon settled back down into her seat holding her puppy close. Then she stared towards the glowing lights of the city. As she stared she could only think about what was awaiting her now in the future. But then she became curious as to why she had become so methodical about the future.

But if she were to have continued to looking back a little longer she would have seen a figure staring back with malicious intent in their eyes. This person then got into a car and started to tail them from a distance. Trouble was going to visit Mikomi and Kaede very soon.

To be continued . . . .

* * *

Authors' notes: I'm not really sure if I caught the right feelings the characters should feel during these kinds of situations. Also I'm not sure If Kaede would have acted this way. But from now on she will start changing bit by bit as the story goes.

As for the next chapter beware of more surprise meetings.


	4. Family

Chapter 4: Family

Synopsis: There will be two important people Kaede will meet this evening. One person will represent the goodness and purity in her heart. The other will represent the worst mankind has to offer. For one person is someone she has never met before, but has known quite well for some time. While the other is someone she had met for a brief time, but no idea who this person is.

Reminder: I do not own Elfen Lied or any characters associated with it

"talking"

_thoughts_

_

* * *

_

After some driving down the hill they had finally reached the city. Kaede has been in the city before, but never this late at night. As she looked outside, the city seemed livelier then it usually does. For many people were laughing, talking, and walking with either their friends or family. She simply stared in awe at the many things occurring within the area. Soon the car came to a stop in front of a building. Curious to why they had stopped, Kaede looked up to see it was some sort of hotel. She then looked back at the driver to receive an answer.

"Were here" Mikomi said.

"Here?" asked Kaede.

"The place where we will be staying tonight".

"This is home?" asked Kaede expecting something a bit more.

"Well not exactly, this is where we will be staying for a while until I can arrange our move back home" smiled Mikomi. Kaede gave the woman a questioning look to which Mikomi continued. "For my home is in the next city over . . . . to which I hope you will also call home as well".

Kaede replied back with a soft smile. She liked the idea of a place to call home. As her thought process continued her new life was looking good so far. Mikomi then led the way to the room she was living in. The room was quite far up, but Kaede had no trouble following her up the stairs. Soon the two arrived in front of the place the elder woman was residing. As she took out her key to open the door Mikomi was hesitant to use it. She then looked down at her daughter as if wanting to share something with her.

"Kaede, there is someone I would like you to meet" Mikomi said a bit hesitant.

The horned girl sensed her discomfort and was soon feeling paranoid about the situation. "Who?"

"It is someone I love just as much as you" the elder woman half-smiled.

"OK", but in her mind things weren't OK. Whoever this person was she didn't like the idea of it being some outsider. For this mysterious person would most likely think less of her because of her horns. If this was the case she wanted to brace herself for whatever criticism or insult came at her.

Mikomi then unlocked the door to which a high pitch happy scream was heard.

"Okaasan!" yelled the voice.

Suddenly a pink blur raced towards the door glomping Mikomi into a hug. The elder woman then hugged the pink blur back as they entered the room followed by Kaede. As she held the blur up she closed the door behind her proceeding into the room with the strange entity still attached to her. Kaede was now baffled at what she saw. Not only did this entity look like her besides a few different facial features, but she also had horns just like her. Mikomi then let the entity down onto her feet before facing her daughter.

"Kaede, I would like you to meet your sister".

"My sister?" said Kaede in disbelief. She wasn't sure how she was supposed to react. For on one hand she felt angry that this girl had the love and affection of their mother, but on the other hand she felt a familiarity with this girl known as her sister.

"Go on now . . . . go introduce yourself properly . . . . Nyu" Mikomi half-smiled.

Nyu then walked up to Kaede with a huge smile on her face. "Oneesan".

Kaede examined the girl in front of her. She wasn't entirely sure what to make of her. They both had very similar appearances but this girl seemed very . . . . happy for a lack of better words. However what caught her attention most was how she felt about her sister. For there was some sort of nostalgia about her. It was as if she knew her from a very long time ago or some past life perhaps.

"Oneesan" Nyu said again, but then tears started to form in her eyes which caught Kaede by surprise. Then suddenly she found herself captured in a hug. "I've been waiting a long time to meet you oneesan" the ditzy girl cried out.

Kaede to say the least was shocked at her sister's reaction towards her. But she couldn't help but smile at her. She then relaxed her body and hugged back. "I've been waiting to meet you also" Kaede responded not really sure what to say at the moment.

Mikomi smiled as she watched her daughters embrace each other. At first she was worried how Kaede would react to Nyu. For she feared the worst that Kaede would have rejected Nyu for being with her. After the display of warmth any doubts she had were swept aside.

The pink diclonius then broke the embrace with Nyu because she wanted to know something. "Nyu, how old are you?"

"I'm the same age as oneesan" said Nyu instantly returning to her happy demeanor.

"Same age?" said Kaede confused.

"You two were twins when I gave birth to you" said Mikomi as she stepped into the conversation.

Kaede then looked to her mother to further explain herself.

Mikomi then led the two girls to the greeting room area to continue their conversation. But before continuing, the elder woman set up some drinks and crackers for her daughters to have. She then sat across from them with a cup of tea in hand.

"I wasn't exactly expecting to have twins. Although it didn't really matter to me as long as I gave birth to a beautiful child" Mikomi said nostalgically. Kaede then felt her heart feel lighter at those words. Then a question came to mind which concerned her and her sister.

"Why were we apart? Why wasn't I with Nyu?"

Mikomi paled a bit at this question. "Due . . . . due to a certain incident, both you and Nyu were separated from me". Mikomi then paused to catch her bearings. "Although I did manage to find Nyu quickly within a few months" as she then began to release light sobs. "Years began to pass and I feared the worst that I would never find you" Mikomi struggled to say.

Kaede felt her heart strings being pulled at this. She was speechless to the determination the woman in front of her had to find her. Nyu suddenly got up and ran to Mikomi grabbing her shoulders.

"But okaasan did find oneesan, she did find her. Now we can all be a family" Nyu said trying to cheer her mother up

Starting to feel a bit left out, she got up and went to her mother. "It's OK, you did find me and regardless of how much time passed you never gave up looking for me".

"Kaede" said Mikomi as small tears formed, she then embraced the girl to which she returned without hesitation. Nyu then jumped in to create a group hug. The three held each other for a short while until Nyu spoke up.

"Now we are a family", but then a grumbling noise came from her stomach. Mikomi and Kaede heard this and chuckled at the sound to Nyu slight embarrassment.

"Well I'll cook something for us to eat" said Mikomi.

The elder woman got to work with what was in the fringe, and within the span of half an hour dinner was ready. Although it wasn't much it still had the basic requirements while also being a traditional Japanese meal.

The three then sat down and began their dinner. As Kaede opened her mouth to take her first bite she couldn't help but feel it was the most delicious thing she has ever eaten. Mikomi noticed her expression.

"I'm sorry it isn't much. I was in a hurry to get here. Without thinking about it we're kind of lacking in a few supplies that we needed" Mikomi said feeling embarrassed.

"No, it is very good" Kaede said feeling more light hearted.

"Thank you".

The family of three continued to eat with minor chats of pleasantries here and there until Nyu then finally noticed the extra occupant in the room.

"Who is he?" said Nyu pointing at the puppy sitting near the table.

"That's Kohta" replied Kaede finally taking note that she forgot to give him something to eat. She then gave the young pup some of what she was eating.

"Kohta . . . . " Nyu said dreamily.

"Is something wrong Nyu?" asked Mikomi curious to her daughter's reaction.

Nyu continued to look at the puppy until a big smile was plastered on her face. "Nyu loves Kohta" Nyu said excitedly.

Mikomi laughed at her daughters antics, but Kaede had a weird vibe that hit her mind. She wasn't sure why she had reacted to that statement, but she was curious to why this had any meaning to her.

_**ding dong, ding dong, ding dong**_

The ringing of the doorbell broke Kaede out of her trance. For at the moment she felt like she was getting somewhere. But it didn't seem important enough to dwell on it so she let the thought go. Mikomi reacted to the bell by going to answer it.

"I'll get it.

As she left the table Kaede couldn't help but feel something was poking at her. She found it quite annoying so she decided to simply ignore it all together. She then turned her attention to Nyu who was simply sitting there with a happy face enjoying her meal. Kaede gave a light chuckle at this. But then . . . .

"Ahhhhhh" screamed Mikomi before she sounded like someone was trying to muffle her

The twin dicloniuses instantly got off of their seats to see what was going on. Fear immediately entered both of their bodies as some man seemed to have been attacking their mother. The man then looked towards both Nyu and Kaede with hate in his eyes. It was then that both girls had terrible feeling that something bad was about to unfold.

To be continued . . . .

* * *

Authors' notes: In the final chapter it is assumed that both Kaede and Nyu were reborn. So that is why I really wanted to introduce Nyu as Kaede's sister in this chapter. Plus the fact you can't have Elfen Lied without Nyu in it. Also I do apologize if it appears too touchy feely since I wanted to show a family reunion in a way but I kind of suck at it, so sorry.

As for the mysterious man at the end, gather some of the clues you know so far about the fic and decipher who this man is.

So I thank you for your time in reading this fic and further extend my gratitude if you can review it as well.


	5. Manifestation

Chapter 5: Manifestation

Synopsis: The darkness has begun to grow and soon it will emerge. But will this darkness be used for good or evil? That will be decided by the one who uses it. Whatever the choice is, it will bring about an outcome which will ripple across their future.

Reminder: I do not own Elfen Lied or any characters associated with it

"talking"

_thoughts_

_

* * *

_

As Mikomi answered the door the assailant wasted no time getting into the room. He rammed the door the moment it was opened. Mikomi let out a scream as she was knocked onto her back from the force. The bewildered woman then sat up to see who the perpetrator was only to be met with menacing eyes which held no sense of sympathy or guilt for what he had planned. The menace quickly entered the room, locking the door behind him ensuring that no one could hear what was about to happen in addition to keeping everyone else in the room. Mikomi in shock did what most people would do during these hostile situations. She started to crawl back while trying to make her way to a nearby phone. The man saw this instantly and mounted on top of her to stop any further progression. He then gave one strong punch to Mikomi face to stun her and proceeded to choke her into submission. As this was occurring both Kaede and Nyu entered into the guestroom area. Mikomi managed to tilt her head up to see her daughters terrified at the sight before them. The evil man also noticed the girls' entrance and gave them an angry glare.

"_Get away_" thought Mikomi desperately as she was only concerned with their safety.

"I told you this would happen!" the thug screamed.

Kaede was confused at the chaos that had just occurred. For all this had just happened so fast. Some strange man giving off an evil aura had just invaded their room. Furthermore the man was yelling things at her mother while hitting her at the same time.

"Answer me!" he yelled while slapping her again.

Mikomi struggled to get the assailant off. But no matter how hard she tried to gain momentum the thug would easily shift his weight to counter her. This only fueled the assailants rage by choking her harder while continuing his barrage of hits.

"I said answer me!" yelled the man again. He then lightened up his grip enough to allow his victim enough room to speak.

"Please . . . stop it . . . Asuma" Mikomi pleaded.

This only enraged him further to which he reacted with a hard slap to her face.

Kaede and Nyu were filled with fear at what they saw. For what scared them was to see their mother so defenseless and unable to do anything. Nyu was stunned frozen in fear and shock to which she crumpled to the floor on her knees. She looked upon her helpless mother with tears filling up her eyes. Nyu at this time was completely paralyzed from head to toe. Of course she wanted to help her mother, but she didn't even have enough strength in her lungs to yell out to her.

Kohta the dog entered the room during the confusion, but just like Nyu was also too scared to do anything. For the pup was only a few months old and wouldn't have been very effective to do anything in the matter.

Kaede was a bit more rational towards the situation because of how her life was until now. But the girl was also in the same state as Nyu to say the least. Although she could control her upper body with no problems her legs felt like noodle due to the shock of the situation, and due to this she couldn't make her way to Mikomi. So she did the next best thing a scared child could do.

"Leave Mrs. Hikaru alone!" she yelled as her legs kept shaking regardless of how much she tried to will them to stop.

"Shut up freak!" yelled Asuma.

This scared Kaede to which now she was on her knees.

"_Get up, get up, get up_" she thought frantically as the situation became direr.

The prick continued to hurt her mother without any remorse. For the thug viciously lashed out at her wanting to know the reason for something she didn't understand. As he continued to do this Kaede continued to try and get herself up.

"_Get up, get up, get up, please get up_" Kaede thought desperately pleading to her body to move.

"You stupid b****!" Asuma said hitting his victim again. Mikomi was now bleeding from the nose and mouth feeling too exhausted to struggle against her attacker. For at this point all that could be done was try to get some breathing room by loosening the grip the attacker had on her. The battered woman then managed to gain one last push to break the hold around her neck temporarily to get her message out. She knew this would most likely be it for her, but her concern was more for her children.

"Kaede! Quickly now, take your sister and run!"

"You f****** wh***!" exclaimed Asuma as he regained his hold around her neck. Mikomi now was completely exhausted and at this point waited for her end to come while praying for her daughters' safety.

"You shouldn't have left Mikomi! You shouldn't have left!" as he raised his hand in the air ready to strike her again. But the strike never came as his arm was being obstructed. As he turned to look he saw a horned girl clinging to his arm trying to stop him from harming her mother again.

For the scared girl found the strength to stand from her mother's words. Even though the woman told her to take her sister and run she couldn't leave her behind, and without thinking her body reacted by instinct to protect her.

"Get off me!" Asuma yelled trying to shake the child off.

"Kaede, stop it! Just take Nyu and get out of here!" Mikomi said beginning to struggle again.

"I said get off!" he yelled to which he successfully threw the petite girl to a nearby wall. Kaede was hurt from the impact with the wall as she slid down trying to stay conscious. But all she could do now was try to keep her eyes open and will her body to stop the man that was hurting her mother. But then to her surprise she saw Nyu grabbing the attackers other arm which was then followed by Kohta biting the opposite.

Nyu seeing her sister's attempt found enough courage to try and oppose the man.

"Okaasan never did anything to you. So leave okaasan alone" she cried out as she vice gripped the man's arm. The prick first threw Kohta aside since it was the greater annoyance. At this distraction Mikomi responded by scratching at his face, but Asuma immediately regained control of the situation by clamping his hostage down thus allowing him to concentrate on the other annoyance.

Now if the man was already angry, what Nyu said really sent him over the top. "It's because of you freaks that Mikomi left!" as he shook the girl off followed by backhanding her in the face. Nyu was immediately incapacitated from the hit as she fell a foot away. Although she wasn't getting up she was still conscious of the events that were occurring.

"You're going to pay, you're going to pay for what you did!" said Asuma now in a low dangerous tone. He then took his free hand and ripped Mikomi blouse open revealing her bra and chest. It was then a sick and twisted look came about his face as he proceeded to grope her body. Mikomi knew what he was going to do and attempted to stop him, but she then found herself getting hit again to which she knew at this point she had hit her limit and could no longer resist to defend herself or her daughters.

Kaede watched in horror at what was going on. Even though her young mind didn't understand what was happening she knew it was bad. As she watched she felt her stomach give in from the dense atmosphere of the situation.

But then she felt it again, that same ugly feeling she felt this afternoon. As seconds passed before her, the feeling kept growing into something that twisted her insides to pieces. Although the feeling was the same from the previous time something was different about it. With her mind focused on the situation, that is when everything came to its peak. For all the emotions she had at this point converged and focused itself into concentrated force. It was at this point when she exploded.

"Let go of her!" screamed Kaede.

With that declaration two invisible arms which will later come to be known as vectors hit the ass**** with enough force to send him across the room to the opposite wall to herself. Asuma was stunned at what happened for he had no idea at what had just hit him moments ago. But then that same force picked him up until he almost reached ceiling which was then followed by his entire body being clamped to the wall. Asuma to say the least was very confused and scared at what was going on. Kaede came slowly walking up to him with a murderous look in her eyes. As soon as she was right in front of him, Asuma pretty much signed his death warrant with his next statement.

"What are you? You monster!" he said in both fear and anger.

"Monster?" said Kaede in a low tone. "The only monster here is you!" Her vector then clasped itself around his neck threatening to kill him within seconds.

"I'll kill you!" she then screamed.

Within the recess of her mind everything was shrouded in absolute darkness. As her mental image stood in the darkness a bandaged figure stood right behind her whispering into her ear.

"_Yes, kill him_" said the figure. "_Kill all the trash that stands before you._"

Kaede listened to all this as her face twisted into a maniacal smile. In the real world she was ready to finish off her assailant. But then . . . .

"Let him go".

Her face instantly went back to normal as she turned her head around. There she saw Mikomi lying against a wall nearby with one of her arms supporting her up while the other kept her blouse closed. She then looked to Kaede with a tired and pleading look.

"Please. . . . let him go" Mikomi said which sounded more like a whisper.

"Why?" demanded Kaede as her eyes started turning cold again. "He was hurting you! He hurt Kohta! And he hurt Nyu too!". The mentioned sister just recently pushed herself up while holding the sore spot on her cheek followed by the young pup meters away limping to her.

"Please . . . . Kaede . . . . you're not a killer" Mikomi said. "Please . . . . just . . . . let him go".

The horned girl was now experiencing an internal dilemma. On one hand the man before her was someone she wanted to kill for what he had done to her and her family. But on the other, her mother wanted her to show mercy to the person who was plaguing them.

"_What are you doing_?"

"What?" said Kaede as she found herself back in her mental world.

"_This man wronged you and he deserves to die for it!_" said the specter.

"_Who are you?_" demanded Kaede.

The bandaged figure snickered at this question. "_I am darker side of your desires, I am evil that exists in your soul, for basically I am you_".

Kaede turned to face the figure. "_No, that can't be true_". Soon mannequins appeared all around her with the deranged existence moving around them.

"_Why do you deny it? I know your desires and I know your needs_" said the specter as it continued to wonder around the statues. " _What should it matter? This person is less than us and in this world who would miss one less piece of trash_".

Kaede couldn't deny this logic. With the power she was feeling she felt like she could do anything and everything she wanted and no one could stop her. For with this power no one would ever hurt her again.

But then Mikomi image came to her mind as she remembered all the good things she had introduced into her life within the small amount of time they had met.

"_Why do you let this woman make you think otherwise?_" asked the figure as she reappeared behind Kaede again whispering into her ear. "_She'll be like everyone else. She'll leave us after seeing what we can do_" the figure snickered. "_So I think it is best to get rid of her now while we're at_ it"

Once again Kaede couldn't deny the figures thought process until . . . .

"_You're not a killer_".

Those were the previous words that her mother had just said to her. Now she was not sure what to believe in. Kaede in her mental area crouched down holding her head not sure what to do. For her heart was in a state of chaos unable to choose what path she should take. The specter sensing the discord gave its argument a final push by preying on the very insecurity that kept Kaede from her influence.

"_You horned freak_".

Kaede turned up to see Mikomi, but instead of her usual smile there was a malicious look on her face.

"_You honestly think I care about you_" said Mikomi with a sneer. "_I bet you can't wait to kill me as well. It probably would have been better if I had left you behind and lived peacefully with Nyu_". Blood then started to leak out her eyes, nose, and mouth. "_Perhaps if I never found you I wouldn't have to suffer like this_"

The specter believed it had pretty much assured its victory in this matter.

Kaede slowly got up with her bangs shading her eyes not revealing what she was feeling. Her fists were clenched tight showing a deep turmoil for what she was about to do. But the bandaged figure never saw what was coming next.

"_Even if you do hate me and come to despise me, I was still grateful that you came to find me. Furthermore, I was really happy to have met you . . . . mother_" said Kaede with a solemn look on her face as her body relaxed.

The Mikomi figure had a shocked look on her face as she evaporated from Kaede's sight. Next, the mannequins all around her began to evaporate and soon the dark world started to lighten up a bit.

"_I know who I am_" she said to the specter. "_And I will from now on decide my own path in life_" Kaede then said with a softened look on her face.

The figure even though its face was bandaged easily showed it was angry.

"_You'll regret this Kaede, You'll regret not listening to me_" said the figure as it slowly faded from her sight. But before the abomination faded the bandage around its face came loose revealing a troubling image, an image of her face.

But before Kaede could think anything of it she soon found herself back in the real world facing Asuma who was still struggling to breath. She gave the man a death glare which sent chills up the man's spine. He then felt a tighter grasp around his neck to soon he was about to die, but then without warning he fell to the ground. Upon that action Asuma staggered up to catch his breath. Kaede using her vectors opened the door, picked the prick up once more and threw him out. The said man hit the outside wall. As he looked up he saw that demon girl standing right at the door way giving him a dangerous look.

"Don't ever appear before me or my family again mister or you'll regret it" said Kaede maintaining her glare on Asuma.

The man understanding his place didn't need to be told twice. Asuma immediately picked himself up and ran never looking back afraid of what might happen.

Upon his retreat she closed the door normally and went to tend to Mikomi, Kohta, and Nyu. She helped all of them to the sofa and then got them some ice packs and towels

"Thank you Kaede" said Mikomi as she took the items. Kaede felt somewhat relieved that her mother wasn't saying anything about what had just transpired.

She then placed an ice pack over Kohta's leg to which he whimpered but immediately settled into.

Kaede next handed the items to Nyu to which she gratefully took.

After a short time the atmosphere of the situation settled down and that is when the talking began.

"How did you do that oneesan?" said Nyu in a curious tone.

"Umm . . . ." Kaede said as she wasn't certain how she did it nor did she actually want to explain.

Mikomi then looked to her savior with a semi-serious look. "Kaede . . . . we need to talk".

Kaede then felt a lump form in her throat fearing what her mother had to say to her.

To be continued . . . .

* * *

Author's notes: I wanted to make this chapter focused on Kaede choices. For I wanted to show she had to make a choice between the righteous path and the darker one. As you seen she chose the righteous path. But in her mental world there is a reason to why I didn't say her dark world turned to light. For this part will be important later in the story.

So I thank you for your time in reading this fic and further extend my gratitude if you can review it as well.


	6. Realization

Chapter 6: Realization

Synopsis: The truth has always been the wings that set the soul free when burdened by guilt. In other circumstances it may be the very thing that chains the heart down. But in the end it depends on the recipient if they chose to allow the truth to be their freedom or their cage.

Reminder: I do not own Elfen Lied or any characters associated with it

"talking"

_thoughts_

_

* * *

_

Kaede was feeling the dense atmosphere come around her again. She feared the specter's warning about what was to come, her mother's judgment towards her. At the last statement, she picked Kohta up being careful to not hurt him while sitting at his spot with him on her lap.

"_I guess this is it_" thought Kaede sadly.

In her very core she felt Mikomi unsettling feelings towards her. For she believed what she just displayed scared her biological mother beyond reason and words. Heck, even in her own perspective this power scared her a lot to what they could be capable of. Kaede then looked up after absentmindedly petting Kohta a few moments ago to be met with a serious stare from Mikomi. Kaede felt at this point what was about to come next. But remembering the last conversation she had with the specter, she would not allow her heart to be weak no matter what Mikomi decided to do with her.

"_Back to the old life I suppose_" thought Kaede sadly again. At this time the horned girl decided if she had to go back to the orphanage she would request to be left in a new place far away from her former abusers. At that train of thought she then heard her mother speak up to her.

"Kaede" said Mikomi to which she paused for a moment to collect her thoughts. "Was it you who did all those things?" obviously referring to the assailant some time ago.

Kaede looked towards the elder woman and simply nodded not being able to use her voice from the growing anxiety of the situation.

"So you are different from normal people?" once again obviously pointing out her powers and not her unique physical traits.

Kaede nodded again feeling the building tension of what was to come. Tears then slowly began to fill up her eyes in anticipation of her mother's rejection of her. As she looked down she could only wonder why fate was so cruel to her. For her appearance and abilities far separated her from what people would deem normal. At this thought she hugged Kohta closer bracing herself for what she was going to hear next.

"Kaede" Mikomi said. "I guess we have more in common than I thought".

Kaede hearing that last statement looked up quickly to be met with Mikomi's soft smile. The girl to say the least was confused at what Mikomi had just said a moment ago or was probably thinking she had just heard wrong. Although this wasn't what she was expecting the heavy feeling she had before had definitely gotten lighter to which she felt like she could breathe again.

"What?" wanting to know for certain what she just heard while also daring to pray what it meant.

"I said we have more in common than I thought" said Mikomi patiently. "Although not exactly at the same time" she said with a half-embarrassment.

"Huh?" replied Kaede confused at what that was supposed to mean.

"You see Kaede, I also have powers too but not like yours".

"Wait, you have powers? But if you have powers why didn't you use them to defend yourself?"

Mikomi cringed a bit at that memory, but then settled back down to answer her question. "Well as I said before my powers are different from yours to which they are not used to hurt people". The elder woman then thought about how to word her statement. "My powers are sort of like telepathy, but instead of minds what I read are hearts."

Kaede took this information in without any problems. For with these new facts she felt less alone in the world to which there existed other people who were different from what was normal.

"For that is how I found the both of you in time, but only if my powers were a bit stronger I would have found you sooner" Mikomi said saddened at her last statement. The elder woman immediately perked up when she looked towards Kaede. "But your powers seem to be telekinesis which are far cooler than mine".

Kaede blushed at that comment, and although she didn't know how to feel about her powers it felt nice that it wasn't being perceived as something evil.

"But Kaede there is something I need to ask you" as Mikomi displayed a serious expression.

Kaede then sensed some worry from her mother's voice. "What is it?"

"When you were using your abilities I sensed two different hearts inside of you. One of them I recognized as yours, but the other suddenly appeared there . . . . Kaede, do you know what is going on inside of you?"

Kaede thought back to her mental space where she encountered the specter.

"Yes, but . . . ." she hesitated for she didn't want to share what the specter wanted her to do.

Mikomi noticed this, "It's OK, I know already what the other entity wanted because I could feel its intentions."

Kaede flinched at that statement.

"But don't worry, I am proud that you resisted its allure and made a righteous choice with what you did".

The said girl looked very happy to be complimented. At this point she felt ready to take her next step in life.

"Thank you . . . . mother" smiled Kaede

"You're welcome" responded Mikomi feeling slight tears forming.

"Kakkoii!" interjected Nyu. "So both okaasan and oneesan have super powers. So you are both like super heroes!" Kohta barked in response to Nyu's outburst."So does that mean Nyu has super powers too?"

Mikomi and Kaede giggled a bit at Nyu excitement.

"We'll see in time".

"But I want to see now" said Nyu giving a cute pouting face.

"Alright that's enough for now" said Mikomi. "For girls should always be presentable at all times, so let's get ourselves cleaned up OK"

"But what about that bad man?" asked Nyu.

"Don't worry, he won't be coming back" said Mikomi making note that she felt his fear as the thug ran away.

Now for the most part no one was that badly hurt besides some nasty cuts here and there with minor bruising everywhere, and to Kaede amazement Mikomi was actually tougher then she looked if she could take a beating like that and be relatively OK for the most part. Although she still felt she was putting on a front to hide her emotions of the traumatic experience. But thinking back to when the man was shouting at Mikomi, she couldn't understand why. Although she wanted to question her on it she kind of felt that doing so would spoil the mood that was created so far. Besides when her mother was ready she will say it, and if that man came back she'll definitely teach him another lesson. But for now she wanted to let things be and allow the happy moments to continue.

"Hey Kaede are you coming?" asked Mikomi

"Coming?" asked Kaede

"They have a nice Jacuzzi tub here and I wanted to share some girl time with you".

"Come on oneesan" said Nyu.

"Heh, alright" said Kaede after a short time to think about it. Although she didn't know what a Jacuzzi was she kind of figured why not?

"Bark bark" called Kohta.

"Sorry Kohta, girls only" winked Mikomi.

The pup whimpered and sat out in the bath area as the three female occupants entered the bathroom and shared a nice bonding time with each other.

Now after they finished cleaning up, everything was then fixed and set aside for the following day. Mikomi then led her daughters to the bedroom to settle in for the night. As they settled in, Mikomi hugged her two precious girls close to her.

"Goodnight okaasan" said Nyu before falling asleep rather quickly.

"Goodnight . . . . mother" said Kaede for she was still a bit shaky about using such a word since the feeling of it was still rather new to her.

"Goodnight my girls" said Mikomi and soon the three bed occupants were asleep waiting for the next day to come.

* * *

~ Dream Sequence ~

Kaede stood in front of a tree before a small burial. She didn't understand why she was there nor did she understand why she was feeling so sad at this time. But she knew that someone or something had just died and she was grieving because of it. A feeling of emptiness and solitude then came over her as she continued to stare at the small burial. Kaede didn't understand why she was feeling this, but she felt this had happened before. Now thinking about the scenery, she did recognize the area as a place near the orphanage. But she didn't understand why she would be at this place or the purpose of the burial or her feelings at the time.

But before her thoughts could finish she heard a strange melody. Although it was a sad and lonely one it was quite beautiful. As she turned around her eyes met with a boy she had never seen before, but strangely enough somehow knew.

Then she found herself enchanted by the music as if something compelled her to stay there and listen. As soon the music came to a stop one question came to her mind which she wanted to know.

"_Have we met before?_" thought Kaede

But before she knew it the dream had come to an end as she began to awaken to the new day.

~ End Dream Sequence ~

* * *

Kaede awoke from her sleep dazed finding herself alone on the bed. As she looked around she wanted to make sure that everything that happened yesterday wasn't a dream to which she was rewarded that it wasn't. She then thought about the dream she had last night.

"That was weird".

"What was oneesan?"

Kaede turned towards the door way to see Nyu looking right back at her.

"Nothing Nyu, so where is mother?" said Kaede redirecting the conversation.

"Okaasan in making breakfast so come on and let's eat" smiled Nyu.

"Alright I'm coming" said Kaede as she climbed out of the bed

"Oneesan, would you like to wear one of my pretty dresses?"

Kaede took notice of her sister's fashion and although they were nice they were a bit too girly for her.

"That's OK Nyu" smiled Kaede.

So the pink diclonius got dressed in her usual white dress shirt and red skirt and as she went out to have breakfast with everyone she still took pleasure in eating a mother's home cooked meal.

Mikomi then took notice to Kaede as she sat down to eat.

"Enjoy your rest sleepy head" smiled Mikomi.

"Yes" smiled Kaede.

The family then said there grace and proceeded into consuming their morning meal. As they ate, Kaede then had a vision of that boy again from her dreams. She didn't understand why it had so suddenly appeared, but she knew it was important for some reason.

"Mother" said Kaede

"Yes dear?" said Mikomi

"I would like to go somewhere today".

Mikomi felt an unusual feeling inside of her daughter, but didn't want to push it unless it was necessary too. "OK, but do you need me to take you there?"

"No it's OK, where I'm going is in walking distance".

"Alright then, but be careful and come back soon because we have to make preparations for our departure back home in a few days".

"Alright mother".

After the meal Kaede made her way out of the area. As she walked towards the hills she would try to move as quickly as possible avoiding any attention that her horns would draw upon her. At times she would be stopped by people curious of her appearance to which she would respond that they were sort of like head ornaments. For the most part people bought it and believed it to be like an otaku thing such as cat ears.

Eventually Kaede made it to her destination without much distraction. Although the constant stops by people made her nervous.

Now at the tree she remembered in her dreams she was looking at a burial that was supposed to be right at the base of it. After a short time looking she concluded there was no burial there.

"_This is so stupid_" thought Kaede. "_Why am I getting so worked up over a dream_?"

She then took a seat at the base of the tree thinking things over of what have had just occurred for the last thirty-six hours or so. For so much had just happened over such a small amount of time. The discovery of a mother, a sister, her powers, and the strange feelings she has been having recently.

After a good half hour Kaede got up and decided to head back.

"_What was I suppose to expect?_" as she looked towards the tree again

Now as if god were answering her question she then heard a melody coming from right behind her. Thus remembering that same tune from her dreams she slowly turned around to be met with that same boy again. As the music enchanted her only one thought came to mind.

"_Have we met before?_"

To be continued . . . .

* * *

Authors' notes: Well since Kaede/Nyu/Lucy mom was by technicality the creator of the Disclonius race I would expect her to be pretty special in some way too. Also by Kakuzawa analysis it was actually their mom who was the real mutant and not them. Also I do apologize if it seemed too long for Kohta and Kaede to meet again. But hopefully I will finally get that started already. Also Nyu powers won't develop until later in the story. If some are wondering why Mikomi powers didn't sense the guy, it is because they are the active type in which she needs to concentrate to use them. Finally I'm trying to keep things relatively in the same chronological order. So yesterday is when her powers emerged, today is when she meets Kohta, and the next four days in when fate will take another route and avoid tragedy on Kohta's part. Plus if it seemed that the girls recovered too quickly from the attack just try to imagine them as really resilient people.

So I thank you for your time in reading this fic and further extend my gratitude if you can review it as well.


	7. Meeting

Chapter 7: Meeting

Synopsis: The person who has changed her fate once before has appeared before her again. But will this meeting lead to the same path of death and destruction or will it lead to something new.

Reminder: I do not own Elfen Lied or any characters associated with it

"talking"

_thoughts_

_

* * *

_

As she looked before the boy in front of her she felt a mixture of feelings stirring within her. Although she didn't understand half of what was going on. What she did know was that something about this very moment was important.

"You've been . . . . staring at this for a while" the boy said closing his music box

Kaede immediately looked away with a blush of embarrassment. "I just thought it had a beautiful melody".

"Really?" the boy said but then his attention was immediately redirected to the extra features on the girls head. Kaede noticed his stare and specifically what he was looking at.

"Are those real?" asked the boy which made her tense at that question

"They look like horns" the boy continued.

She grabbed her horns. "Does it disgust you that these things are growing from my head?" Kaede answered back with a question of her own. She felt that people like that were extremely annoying to always take notice of her horns. Due to her agitation her powers began to act up as invisible arms swarmed their way towards him.

"Cool!" the boy said suddenly as he grabbed Kaede's shoulders. "Those are totally cool!"

The pink diclonius to say the least was surprised at the compliment to which her vectors dissipated from sight.

"Wow, great" the boy continued as she looked towards him with a slight red tint. But as soon as that came was as fast as it left. She immediately returned to her cold indifference, swatting the boy's hands off her.

"It's because of these that I have been through so much" said Kaede coldly.

The boy shook a bit as he absorbed that information. "I don't really understand, but I think . . . . I think those are cool!" as he said the last part with enthusiasm. "For real, I mean it".

Kaede felt sick of the situation and decided to leave. "They bother me" not bothering to look back to explain.

As she was gaining distance it was as if by impulse that the tanned youth then asked his next question. "Hey, wanna be friends with me?" She stopped momentarily to hear him out. "I'm staying at a relative's house and I gotta go back soon, but let's play together until then!"

Kaede immediately thought back to Rika who out of the blue started acting nice to her. She felt it was a rather sick joke to be making **'**friends**'** with **'**normal people**'**. For after the incident with the puppy the day before, she was rather apprehensive to be conversing with anyone who approached her in such a manner.

"You've got to be kidding" Kaede replied back coldly.

The boy was taken back from the answer. "Eh, why?"

"I hate people like you". Although she said that, something about those words seemed wrong for some reason. But at this point in time she was far too agitated to care at the moment.

"You people?" the boy said questionably uncertain of what it was supposed to mean.

Even though the tanned youth heard her clearly it did not waiver his endeavor to befriend the cynic. The boy then began to notice her leaving again, "Ah wait up! My name is Kohta! I'll be waiting here tomorrow around this time! Make sure to come! It's a promise!"

As Kaede was making her way down the hill she took in everything the boy had told her. At learning his name she found it rather amusing that this strange boy had the same name as her dog to which she laughed internally about. But the next thing that came to mind was what he said as well as his offer. Of course she didn't wish to pay it any mind after the recent incident that occurred with Rika, but a strange feeling kept nagging at her to reconsider. For in all honesty she didn't trust anyone who would be considered **'**normal**'**, and she especially didn't trust people who were overly friendly who she believed were most likely pretending to let her guard down.

Now during the time she was thinking to herself she eventually arrived back to the room where her sister and mother were, and by this time is was already late afternoon.

As Kaede entered the room she saw Mikomi prepping some items which were most likely for the trip back home. Her mother immediately reacted to her presence.

"Did you enjoy your trip?" asked Mikomi nicely.

"Yes" Kaede answered back.

"Did something interesting happen?"

Kaede looked away to the floor. "Not really".

Mikomi with her abilities sensed a stir within her daughter. "Is there something bothering you?"

The horned girl in a way sensed that her mother had just scanned her.

"It's nothing" was her only reply just before going to her room and flopping herself on the bed.

As she buried her face into the pillow she thought about the meeting she just had and the meaning behind it. Now in a lack of better words she was dumbfounded on what she wanted to do. On one hand she didn't want to bother going out tomorrow to most likely be hurt again. But on the other hand something inside of her was compelling her to go. Kaede then ruffled her hair out of frustration of what she was supposed to be doing.

"Is something wrong oneesan?"

Kaede immediately flipped over to see Nyu standing at the foot of the bed smiling at her.

"No, it's nothing Nyu" Kaede said solemnly.

Nyu paused for a moment before talking again. "I think you should go see him tomorrow oneesan".

Kaede then jumped into the standing position on the floor. "What did you say?" Kaede said shocked at what her sisttwiner just said.

Nyu simply smiled at her. "I think oneesan should see him tomorrow".

"How do you know about Kohta?" asked Kaede still feeling flustered from Nyu's statement

"Kohta?" asked Nyu with an image of the puppy popping into her head.

Kaede saw her reaction and then asked another question. "How did you know I was meeting someone tomorrow?"

"You were talking loudly to the pillow".

"Oh" was the only thing she could say as she looked down in embarrassment for actually thinking that Nyu might have known what was going on.

Kaede then flopped herself back onto the bed looking up towards the ceiling. "Then you think I should go?"

Nyu simply nodded her head at the question. Although a second opinion was given to her she still didn't like the idea of going especially if this Kohta boy was just going to dup her in the end. But there still existed that feeling that she should show up anyways. In the event that the strange boy doesn't show up she didn't want to be alone there either.

"Hey Nyu?"

"Yes oneesan?"

"Would you like to come with me tomorrow and help keep me company?" For at this point she figured if Kohta didn't show up she would still have Nyu around to talk too.

"I'd love to go oneesan" Nyu said excitedly.

Then from the kitchen Mikomi yelled out to her daughters. "Girls! Dinners ready! Come and eat!"

"Coming okaasan" Nyu yelled back. She then grabbed Kaede's hand pulling towards the next room. But she resisted and kept her seat on the bed. Nyu then looked back at her questionably.

"I'll go a little latter just go first and tell mother I'll be right there".

"OK" Nyu said as she skipped out the door towards the kitchen to receive her meal.

Alone in the bedroom once again Kaede contemplated what was going to happen tomorrow. But all the while it just gave her a headache to think about things in life that she had no control over. So to temporarily clear her head of the matter she decided to watch some television. As the T.V. came to life something she heard shocked her to the core.

"In the latest news a massacre had just occurred in a local orphanage which involved the lives of four children. At the moment police are unable to give any comments or suspects to who or how this had happened. Later reports shall be given as this investigation unfolds."

As Kaede watched, she felt a mixture of feelings swell inside of her. For one point, the murders happened at the same orphanage she was staying at. Another disturbing fact was that the homicide had just happened more or less around the time she left the orphanage with Mikomi. But the mixed feelings she had was the victims of the crime. For the victims were Rika, Takeshi, and his two friends. Now although she had a sense of ethics to know that murder and insulting the dead was wrong. She could honestly feel nothing for those four who died.

As she turned off the television a weird feeling came over her that made her feel a bit sick. For some odd reason she felt that she had something to do with their murder. But immediately swept that thought aside because such a thing was impossible. How could she be responsible for their deaths if she wasn't even there to begin with. At that end thought she went to the kitchen to get her dinner.

* * *

At the start of the new day both Kaede and Nyu got dressed in their usual attire in preparation for their trip. Of course they got Mikomi consent to go on, she herself felt that this would be a good opportunity for the two to get better acquainted. As they left she waved them good-bye as the two entered the forest area. After a while before returning back inside the elder woman looked up towards the sky.

"_It looks like it might rain soon_" Mikomi thought. "_Hurry back you two_"

After a short walk the sisters had finally reached the area that Kohta had promised to meet Kaede. As soon as they came the rain started to pour down upon them. But luckily the tree provided enough cover for them to maintain relatively dry. The twins then sat quietly at the base of the tree to wait for the strange boy to come. But after a short while Nyu decided to break the silence.

"What's his name?" asked Nyu

Kaede just simply looked straight without looking towards her sister. "Kohta" she replied back.

Nyu giggled a bit at the name because it was the same as the puppy back home. "So what is he like?" she then asked.

"He's a bit of a weirdo" Kaede said. "But I suppose he seems nice".

Nyu smiled at the statement in which the silence continued on from there. But after a while . . . .

"Hey can you believe what happened".

Immediately both girls stood up to see two police officers walking towards them. Kaede knew there was no real reason to be wary of them but they would be curious to why two little girls were in the middle of the forest on a rainy day for no apparent reason.

"Hey Nyu lets hide, I don't really want to get any unwanted attention" Kaede whispered to Nyu.

"OK oneesan" Nyu quietly whispered back.

The two then hid behind the tree and continued to move around it to avoid the field of vision of the officers.

"I just can't believe some maniac would kill innocent children like that" said officer 1.

"_They weren't that innocent_" thought Kaede sourly.

"So why are we here?" asked officer 2.

"Well there might be a chance that the killer came around this area. So we are here to investigate." said officer 1.

"Whatever you say" said officer 2 as he walked past the tree both Kaede and Nyu were hiding behind. For the sisters were wary of the situation. Even though those two weren't in any kind of trouble to speak of. But it was kind of like a hide and seek game to them and they didn't want to be caught.

After a while the officer decided to leave out of boredom saying to his partner that there was nothing there to investigate. As soon as they left, both Kaede and Nyu sat back down at the tree again. After a short passage of time the pink diclonius came to a conclusion.

"He isn't coming".

Nyu had a sad look on her face since she wanted to meet him too.

Inside Kaede's thought process, she knew this was most likely going to happen. Plus the fact she couldn't believe she was spending the time to bother with the empty promise. She then turned her head to look at Nyu. But on another thought she at least got to spend some time with her twin sister.

But then out of nowhere she felt something furry cover itself over her head. She then looked up to see a boy smiling back at her.

"If it bothers you then you should cover it" smiled Kohta.

Kaede blushed a bit at the gift. "Thank you".

Kohta then turned his head a bit to see a girl who looked exactly like the one before him, but with slightly different hair length and eyes.

"Who is she?" he asked while pointing to the said girl.

She then took note of it and responded. "She's my twin sister".

He then looked towards her with glee on his face. "Cool, you also have very cool horns" Kohta said sincerely. Nyu blushed at the comment. Thus far she had very limited social interactions with people her age. For those children when Mikomi wasn't around would treat her harshly. So she was usually home schooled by her mother. For she out of fear felt that her fellow peers would do something horrible to her based on the two extra appendages on her head.

"I like Kohta" smiled Nyu with a light blush.

The boy simply smiled back. "If I knew you were going to come I would have brought you something too but I guess this will have to do". Kohta then grabbed some yellow ribbons he had in his pocket and tied them around Nyu's horns. "There you look just fine now".

"Thank you".

Kaede softly smiled at the scene before her at how this weird boy was treating her sister so nicely even though they had just met. But a part of her also felt a bit jealous since he was just paying attention to Nyu at that moment. She then looked to see some injuries on Kohta's legs.

"Your legs?" said Kaede worriedly.

"Oh that, well I kind of skinned them climbing down from a tree. My dad didn't want me to go so I had to sneak out from the second floor window" Kohta explained.

"I see" feeling very warm hearted that he was trying to keep his promise to her.

"But I guess we can't really play today since it's raining".

Soon the three found themselves in a cave taking shelter until the rain stopped pouring. As the three sat quietly apart from each other Kaede decided to break the silence.

"So what were you doing out there yesterday?" she asked.

Kohta then took out the book his was holding and flipped a few pages to show the curious girl the reason for his appearance that day. "Well I really like to draw so that is why I came out here".

Kaede had to admit that the drawing was really good and Nyu who was nearby also took a look.

"Uruwashii! You are very good!" smiled Nyu.

"Thank you" smiled Kohta.

As the three sat back down again the tanned youth then brought out the same music box he had out yesterday and started to play it again. "I know the song seems rather sad but it's still rather beautiful to listen too".

Kaede couldn't help but blush as she listened to the beautiful rhythm. Nyu gave a deep smile as she listened for the first time.

As time passed by Kaede started to feel the weather get the better of her as she began to shiver. Kohta who noticed this slid right next to her.

"What are you doing?" she exclaimed both surprised and embarrassed as she shot back a little with a blush on her face.

"Well like this we can keep warm" Kohta calmly explained.

The horned girl soon sat back into place still feeling a bit embarrassed. But then it was going to be Kohta turn to feel unnerved for Nyu then scooted up on Kohta other side completely sandwiching him in.

"Ahh" Kohta breathed out with a slight blush.

But Nyu simply looked towards the other two with a sunny disposition on her face. Kohta and Kaede then smiled back and relaxed back into their positions.

As the rain continued to pour, the three cave occupants sat quietly and warmly together enjoying the company of each other as they listened to the music box playing the melody Lilium.

To be continued . . . .

* * *

Authors' notes: Well this is me trying to keep things in relatively chronological order. Also adding Nyu in on the Kohta and Kaede moment was rather entertaining to a certain degree. Plus it seems that Kohta is going to grow up to be one heck of a player lol ^_^ (No he won't, not in this story). But anyways if anyone is wondering why those kids at the orphanage died it will be explained on a later chapter because it is something that will become very important later to know.

So I thank you for your time in reading this fic and further extend my gratitude if you can review it as well.


	8. Festivities

Chapter 8: Festivities

Synopsis: Is there ever a time to make things right? If there was time could it be made right? For karma is an interesting thing to which energy is created from ones actions and eventually will come back to reflect on one's life. But this then leads into the dynamics of reality to which everyone's choices makes up the machinery of life. So what choices will affect this machines design?

Reminder: I do not own Elfen Lied or any characters associated with it

"talking"

_thoughts_

_

* * *

_

After the rain finally stopped it was already too late in the day, so playing was no longer possible. Kohta, Kaede, and Nyu agreed to call it a night as they descended from the hill. As they made their way down to the residential district they said their farewells to each other.

"Well, see you later. Let's play again soon OK" said Kohta before he ran off.

"OK" said Nyu as she waved Kohta good-bye with Kaede simply nodding her head as she followed the same action as her sister.

After a while from their departure they finally arrived back to their hotel only to meet a worried looking Mikomi who immediately gave the two a hug for being gone so long. Of course afterwards she gave them a thorough scolding for not coming back immediately when the weather got bad. But then she noticed the extra features on her children and questioned them on it. For even without her empathy powers she could tell they were embarrassed to talk about it when she asked as they both had a shade of pink on them. But eventually the twins told their mother about Kohta. At first she thought the dog, but then was corrected to the person to which laughter was shared on the boy's expense.

Now the next day the girls went out to the same spot in the forest to meet Kohta. But he did not show up and it was like this for three straight days that the girls came. They were sad during those times he didn't come, but of course both Kaede and Nyu kept each other company and did sisterly things while they were together in the forest. However on the fourth day he finally showed up.

On that day the twin dicloniuses were sitting on a log talking to each other about girl things until someone called out to them.

"Hey! Were you guys waiting here for me!" called Kohta from some distance away.

"Hai! We really missed you!" called Nyu back.

"Hey don't say that" blushed Kaede as she shook Nyu a bit from behind. The ditzy girl giggled at the situation.

Soon Kohta made his way to them and of course they were both delighted to see him. But unbeknownst to them he had some rather upsetting news.

"I thought I'd be able to you see you two if I came here" said Kohta. "But I came to say good-bye today".

At that grim news, Nyu gave Kohta a sad look while Kaede turned away looking just as sad while gripping her skirt.

"I see" replied Kaede.

"So let's go play for the whole day today!" Kohta said enthusiastically.

"Play?" both sisters said at the same time.

The next thing they knew they were on a bus on the way to the zoo. Now Kohta in all honesty couldn't believe either of the girls hasn't ever been to the zoo before. Nyu on one hand was rather open and excited to give it a go, but Kaede was rather apprehensive towards the idea. As Kohta had described it, the zoo was a place where unusual animals were seen for the entertainment of the masses. Now Kaede didn't like that idea due to her previous encounters from people before noting she wasn't human giving her equivalent status to a lowly animal. At that thought she told herself she would not enjoy it one bit.

"Wow! Wow! It's so big" shouted Kaede as she ran up to the giant grey animal. The giant grey animal then gave off its trumpet sound.

"Wow!" then called Nyu who was equally as excited standing right next to her sister.

Kohta simply looked dumfounded that anyone would think an elephant was so impressive. The horned girl looked back to see Kohta giving her a soft smile while Nyu gave out a slight giggle. The three began their walk again to which Kaede tried to regain her tough image in front of Kohta.

"It's not like I'm amused by this" she said with a slight pink to her cheeks. "I was simply surprised by this and . . . ."

"Oneesan! Look at that!" said Nyu pointing at the long necked animal, and with that the twins ran right up to the said creature.

"Woah! He's got a long neck! He's got a long neck!" said Kaede excitedly.

"This is amazing! This is amazing!" then said Nyu with equal excitement.

Kohta who was still standing at the spot he was left at wasn't sure what to make of this. "This is the first time I've seen someone so amused by elephants and giraffes" he said to himself out load.

Now after touring the giraffes the three then made their way to an ice shave cart where Kohta purchased three for all of them. They then sat on a bench nearby to enjoy it.

"This tastes good" Kaede said after taking the first bite.

Kohta then looked her way to which she responded by looking down with a blush.

"Ta ta ta, my head hurts" said Nyu while holding her head.

"That's because its shave ice and you have to eat it slowly" Kohta said with a bit of a sweat drop.

Soon the three finished their frozen treats and began their walk again. But before long Nyu grabbed Kohta's right hand and not wanting to feel left out Kaede went for the left hand. The boy in question was a bit surprised, but it didn't bother him much as they continued their tour of the zoo. But soon the tanned youth started to feel some tension from his left side and decided to stop for that moment.

"What is it?" asked Kohta looking back towards Kaede.

The pink diclonius paused momentarily thinking about what she wanted to say. "Around what time are you leaving tomorrow?"

"I think it'll be at night because we go back by night train which is after going to a festival with my cousin" he answered.

"I see" Kaede replied back as she let Kohta hand go which was promptly followed by Nyu who also understood the situation.

The three then arrived at some unknown portion of the park where they were more or less apparently lost. So Kohta spotting a directory tried to find their destination. Meanwhile both girls quietly waited behind for him to return. But as they waited Kaede couldn't help but overhear a conversation by someone nearby.

"Come to think of it, another brutal murder case happened, didn't it?" said some guy at a table.

"This is the third case, right? It's scary, isn't it?" said his female companion.

"What are the police doing? Honestly . . . ."

Kaede at that point decided to disengage herself from their conversation. For whatever it was it had nothing to do with her. But then that feeling came again as if this incident was somehow connected to her. But just like last time she rejected the idea since such a thing was just ridiculous. At the end of her thoughts Kohta made his way to them with a place he thought they should visit next.

For within a few minutes, the three then found their way to a stream within a forest looking area. They immediately removed their shoes in order to jump right in.

"The waters cold and it feels great" said Kaede as she made her way in.

"And it's so clear and shiny" said Nyu as her eyes dazzled at the sight.

Then a moment later, "hey" Kohta called to which Kaede turned to face him only to be splashed with a hand full of cold water.

"Your face was dirty" said Kohta as he began to laugh at the wet girl's expense. Nyu on the other hand just stood there thinking her sister's face wasn't dirty at all. Kaede at that then gave a half laugh and then responded with pushing Kohta into the stream which surprised the boy at the sudden counter attack.

"You're even cleaner than me now" mockingly laughed Kaede. In response to this Kohta pulled one of her legs unbalancing her entire body into the stream completely soaking her as well.

"That was payback" said Kohta.

"You did it first!" Kaede retorted.

But then out of nowhere Kohta was hit with a splash of water. He then looked to see it was Nyu who did it this time. "You definitely started it first Kohta-kun" Nyu fumed.

With that the children began shooting water against each other in retaliation for being soaked. After a good few minutes they finally decided to call a truce. But unfortunately by this time they were all too soaked to go back yet. So they then decided to strip and allow their cloths to be dried on some rocks for a while before they headed back. The three children then sat back to back with girls on one side and boys on the other.

"We won't be able to ride the bus until our cloths dry" said Kohta with a bit of the sniffles

Kaede looked towards the sky for a moment. "So we already have to say good-bye today" she said in a sad tone.

A moment later Kohta began to hum Lilium. Kaede gave recognition to the sound before turning around

"Kohta" Kaede whispered out to which he turned around to see Kaede facing him and Nyu beginning to turn towards him. In view of that he immediately averted his eyes forward again.

"In my whole life . . . . in my whole life . . . . this is the most fun I've had in my whole life" Kaede said with a solemn face.

Kohta scoffed at this, "you're exaggerating".

"I'll never forget about this day for the rest of my life" said Kaede as she rested her head on his shoulder. Kohta flinched at the sudden contact.

"Thank you Kohta-kun for having fun with us" said Nyu with a soft smile as she then hugged Kohta from behind.

The tanned youth then felt very uneasy about the full body contact, but quickly settled back not to upset the girls that were on him. "You're welcome" he stuttered with a tint of pink on his cheeks to which the twins gave a giggle too.

Soon late afternoon came and with their cloths dried they quickly got redressed and onto the bus that would take them back home. On the bus, the three of them chose to sit in the very back seat where they could all sit comfortably next to each other with plenty of room to spread their legs. After a short duration of the bus ride Kaede decided to pick up that conversation again.

"Kohta . . . . about tomorrow's festival . . . ."

"Yeah?" asked Kohta.

"Would it be a problem if I . . . . if we came with you?" asked Kaede who in mid sentence almost left out her sister. Nyu stared with anticipation at the boy's answer.

"I'm sorry . . . . I've already promised my cousin" answered Kohta.

"Then I guess it can't be helped" said Nyu sadly with Kaede looking down as well.

"I'm really sorry. If I hadn't promised . . . ." said Kohta but was then interrupted.

"Don't worry about it Kohta". But then immediately a certain question came to the pale girls mind. "Is your cousin . . . . a girl?"

But then the bus gave a quick rattle in which Nyu fell towards Kohta only to be caught by him.

"Are you OK?"

Nyu gave a slight blush before replying. "Yes" as she corrected herself back to her seat.

Kohta then turned his attention back to Kaede. "Hey, what did you just say?"

"Nothing" she quickly said not wanting to further embarrass herself with such a question.

At that point the rest of the bus ride gave a slight awkward silence. Although Kohta didn't hear the question it was just the atmosphere of the ride in general that felt weird. But within a half hour they eventually got to their stop near the residential district of Yokohama. After a little bit of walking Kohta decided to end this play day at his favorite spot.

"I love watching the ocean from here" said Kohta standing near a long stretch of stairs over seeing a sunset in the distance of the ocean view

"Uruwashii" said Nyu with twinkles in her eyes as she saw the beautiful golden sun over the ocean painting the autumn sky.

"Thanks for today" said Kaede still feeling rather glum.

"No problem, anyways I had fun today" Kohta said. "A lot of fun"

Kaede brightened up a bit at that statement and nodded her head in acknowledgement. She then began to hum the tune of Lilium which surprised Kohta for that moment. But then Nyu joined in synch with her as they watched the setting sun. Soon Kohta looked towards that direction as well with a smile and began to follow along as well. Eventually it soon became night as streetlights all around began to flicker on. Then the three children began their decent on the stairs from there.

Midway down they stopped to say their final good-byes.

"Well-then . . . ." Kohta said

"Yeah . . . ." answered Kaede

"We're planning to come next year too, so we'll meet again".

But both sisters were uncertain if they could come back since they too were soon going to leave Yokohama. In that instant Kaede wanted to ask that question again from before that she felt was out of place to ask.

"Hey, Kohta . . . ."

"What is it?" asked Kohta

Kaede then looked down with a blush. "Is your cousin who is going with you tomorrow a boy or a girl?"

Kohta to say the least was surprised at this question. He didn't exactly expect to be asked such a thing. But now he was faced with an ethical dilemma. For just by looking at the pale girl he knew the answer she wanted to hear. So he could either tell her the truth and hurt her feelings or lie and spare her the pain. In that moment he made up his mind.

"It's a boy" he answered.

"I see!" Kaede said with a slight hint of excitement in her voice. "Tomorrow . . . . tomorrow night, we'll come to see you off at the station".

"We're going to miss you Kohta-kun" said Nyu looking a bit down.

"Bye now!" Kaede blurted out as she grabbed Nyu and began to run down the stairs with her.

But before Kohta could react they were pretty much gone.

Now back at their hotel, Kaede and Nyu were greeted by their mother and soon they talked about the wonderful day they just had. After a warm meal and a bath they soon were ready for bed. But something was definitely on the minds of the twins, and Mikomi could feel it too.

"Is there something bothering you two?" their mother asked.

Kaede and Nyu looked uneasily at each other from the opposite sides of their mother. But then Nyu decided to speak up.

"We want to see Kohta again".

"Then why don't you?" then asked Mikomi.

"Well he promised to be with his cousin for the festival and we don't want to disturb him" said Kaede.

"But we really want to see him for this last time".

Mikomi gave this some thought before embarking her motherly wisdom onto them. "Then you should, for if you two really want to see this person who is special to you, I'm pretty sure his cousin won't mind that much".

At this notion both girls were excited for tomorrow to meet Kohta at the festival.

"And just for this event I have something prepared" said Mikomi brightly and with that the three bed occupants settled in for their rest.

Soon the next day came and during the course of the day both Kaede and Nyu were being fitted into some cute looking yukatas. Their robes were mostly white with some sakura patterns which complimented their skin and their hair overall. A thought came to Kaede's mind which was more or less on the grounds of being "_what a typical mother_" since now she and Nyu practically looked the same. But Mikomi then took one note of Kaede extra apparel.

"Kaede, if you're going to impress your special person then you can't be wearing a beanie with a yukata" said Mikomi analytically

Kaede frowned at this since she liked the beanie a lot since it was something that Kohta had given her. Mikomi then went to remove it and then strapped blue ribbons onto her horns.

"There you go". Now she didn't like the idea of hiding their horns because of people's ignorance of such things. But she still wanted her daughters to be accepted as the two little girls they were in this world.

Kaede then went over to a mirror to observe herself to which she remarked she didn't look half bad.

"You look pretty oneesan" smiled Nyu.

"You look pretty as well Nyu" said Kaede with a calm look.

Eventually night came and Mikomi herself was dressed in a dark blue yukata and soon was escorting her daughters to the festival grounds. As they arrived Mikomi wanted to meet Kohta as well but Kaede had insisted that she and Nyu would go on alone from there. Although she didn't really want too she decided to respect their wishes and let them be so they could be with their special friend. Now a normal mother would be worried since of course they wouldn't want their children out somewhere without supervision and especially around some boy. But Kaede was not a normal child herself. If push came to shove she knew that Kaede could easily protect herself as well as Nyu in any dangerous circumstance. If that boy tried anything she would definitely have him on the ground begging for his mommy within minutes. But she also had faith that her child would use her powers wisely. So at that end thought she went to go find a yakisoba stand to enjoy some noodles.

Now after some wondering both Nyu and Kaede was beginning to wonder if they were ever going to find Kohta in this crowd. Now after some walking they eventually heard something that caught their attention.

"No, no ,no" cried the girl as she hugged on tightly to a boy who seemed rather familiar.

"Idiot! at a place like this . . . ." said the familiar boy.

"Cause I can't stand that I won't be able to see you until next summer" said the mysterious girl.

The said girl then began to rub her eyes as she began to cry. The familiar boy who was just recently recognized as Kohta started to pat the girl on the head.

"Hey, stop crying" said Kohta trying to soothe his female companion.

At the sight before them Nyu didn't really know what to say. However Kaede was in shock at that very moment.

"Why?" she asked as tears began to form in her eyes. Kaede then looked down as her bangs completely shadowed her eyes and soon tears could visibly be seen streaming down the sides of her cheeks.

At that, she turned to the opposite direction and started to run. Nyu following her movements turned to call out to her.

"Oneesan! Wait!" called Nyu as she soon began to run after her.

With that loud shout Kohta turned to his surprise to see the twins running away from him. Now Kohta just realizing the mistake he just made knew he now had to make this right. He then began to run after them.

"Wait!" he called as he too began to run.

The mysterious girl taking note of the boy running off then began to chase as well.

"Kohta! Where are you going?" she called out while beginning to run.

Now during the escape hundreds of thoughts were racing through Kaede's mind at what she had just seen. Each of them was as overwhelming as the next.

"_He lied to me!_"

"_He was just using me!_"

"_He's just like everybody else!_"

With each negative thought that passed through her breathing began to become more labored until she arrived in the outskirts of the festival grounds into an open field of the forest. At that point she then collapsed onto the ground while holding her chest. As she began to cry harder her powers began to swing out of control picking up wind and leaves in the area. For Kaede could not bear the pain of what just happened. Now she just wanted her pain to end. But then she felt some familiar arms grab her from behind.

"Oneesan! Please calm down" cried out Nyu as she desperately tried to console her grieving sister.

Kaede looked back with her eyes now completely swollen from the tears. "I want this pain to stop!" she cried out desperately while clutching her chest. But soon Kohta arrived onto the scene to which immediately the twins took notice too.

"Please, let me explain!" said Kohta trying to sound as passive as possible.

"Stay away from me!" Kaede shouted with pain in her voice as she buried her head into Nyu's chest.

Kohta cringed at this for he really didn't know how to deal with such a situation. But things quickly went from bad to worse as the mysterious girl arrived.

"Kohta, what is going on?" But she then looked towards the scene in front on her only to meet the murderous hateful eyes of a grieving horned girl. The said brunette began to feel afraid.

"_If only you weren't here, if only you weren't here, if only you weren't here!_" Kaede thought and at that her vectors began to swarm towards the her until . . . .

"Ara ara, misunderstandings are always such a problematic thing" said Mikomi as she exited a nearby brush with Yakisoba in hand. At her mother's appearance Kaede's vectors dissipated as her mind was left in a neutral zone.

"You should allow him to speak his mind dear" her mother said trying to calm her daughter and bring her to a more rational state. "Now if you may Kohta-kun, please explain what you came here to say".

On cue Kohta began to explain the situation. "I . . . . I didn't want to hurt you" he said while looking down regretful of his earlier decision from before.

"I knew what you wanted to hear, but for your sake I wanted to spare you from the truth. So that is why I lied about it. So please understand I had to keep my promise and know that I really do like you both, but I just didn't think things would come to this. I'm so sorry" said Kohta as he began to cry out. Now for a person his age an apology like that was pretty decent in itself.

Mikomi who was monitoring the confession with her empathy determined that Kohta was being genuine about his explanation and apology. So she then made her way to her daughter to help her understand.

"You see dear, it was all just a misunderstanding. So you shouldn't let this kind of thing get between friends. So why don't you get up now and make up with him" she smiled.

At that Kaede got up to walk towards Kohta with Nyu following behind. Her eyes still being pink from crying, she decided not to look directly at him. "I'm sorry for overreacting" said Kaede looking away.

"I'm sorry too for lying and hurting you like that" said Kohta looking directly at Kaede. He then followed up with a hug which caught the girl by surprise but soon returned. That moment lasted for a while until they broke apart.

"Friends?" asked Kohta while still being a bit pinked eyed and raising his hand out.

"Friends" said Kaede while also being equally pink eyed and shaking the boy's hand

At that Nyu gave them both a sandwiched hug while the mysterious girl breathed out a sigh of relief.

"You know, now that I think about it I've never learned your name" said Kohta in half-embarrassment.

Kaede gave a bit of giggle while wiping away any remaining tears. "My name is Kaede, Kaede Hikaru". She then looked towards her twin. "And this is Nyu Hikaru" to which Nyu waved to him in response.

Mikomi found it extremely amusing that after all this time they never actually bothered to learn each other's names. But at this point in time she decided not to say anything.

Kohta then turned to the mystery girl. "This is my cousin, Yuka". In response to this Yuka stepped forward to give her greetings.

"I'm sorry that we all met under such bad circumstances". Now Kaede was still wary of her. But she did have to admit that she was being forthcoming about the bad first impression. So she decided to give her a chance.

"Well I guess my role here is done" said Mikomi. "Are you children going to be OK now?"

"Yes mother (okaasan)" said both Kaede and Nyu respectfully, and at that the elder woman returned backed to the festival and allow the children their time together.

"Your mother is rather beautiful" remarked Yuka.

"Thank you" Kaede blushed.

"Well let's start this festival over again" said Kohta and with that said the group gathered together and proceeded back to the festival grounds. After a while Kaede began to have a better impression of Yuka. Although it wasn't completely positive she knew she would at least try to be friendly towards her.

But on another note she felt a bit depressed about the actions she was about to do. For thinking back, she was about to use her powers to hurt Yuka back there. She then berated herself for allowing her heart to be so weak to do such a thing. But on that note she promised that from now on she would be more responsible with her powers. When she saw Yuka getting a bit too friendly with Kohta, Kaede decided to pull her panties down with her vectors which immediately embarrassed the girl.

"_Well responsible most of the time_".

Nyu gave her a scolding look, but she simply waved her off

Now some time later the group was beginning to enjoy themselves with all the games and food around them. The laughs were bountiful as they went from booth to booth. But some time later the group came upon a little girl who was being bullied by a bigger looking boy for her money. Nyu was the first to notice this.

"That's really mean of him" said Nyu pointing out the thug.

At that mention Kohta recognized the girl and immediately intervened into the situation. "Hey! Leave Kanae alone" he demanded.

The little girl then turned to face Kohta. "Oniichan! Help me! This mean boy took my money" Kanae cried out.

"Brother!" both Kaede and Nyu said.

The big boy then turned to face the group who he saw as much smaller than him. He laughed at the people who were trying to oppose him. "So you little shrimps think you can do something about it" he sneered.

Kohta at this point knew he was clearly outmatched. But he knew he could not let this stand. But then Kaede stood in front of him.

"I'll take care of this pushover" she said with rather high confidence.

"But he is twice our size, you can't possibly take him alone Kaede-san" said Kohta worriedly.

"Its fine, I can take him". Nyu then came to her side and whispered into her ears. "Are you going to be OK oneesan? Should you really be using your powers like this?"

"Its fine Nyu, I'll kick this gorillas butt no problem".

"Oh be careful Kaede-san" said Yuka.

The delinquent took notice of the petite girl and laughed at who was challenging him. "Do you honestly think you can do anything to me girly? Why don't you run home now and play with your dollies?" to which he then proceeded to try and push Kaede down.

Kaede at this time had an interesting idea how to use her powers without actually showing she was using her powers. She mentally focused her vectors to wrap themselves around her limbs to act as both armor and as physical augmentation. She was then rewarded for her ingenuity when she caught the thugs pushing hand and noticed he couldn't move her at all. The boy feeling enraged by her defiance swung his free fist at her. Kaede then parried the pushing hand away from her while blocking the incoming punch, and in that instant ended the scuffle with a sharp punch of her own to the boy's gut. Of course she held back.

The next thing anyone knew the boy was on his back completely winded at not knowing what in the hell just happened. At that, Kaede placed one of her feet on the boy's chest looking down at him.

"Now why don't you go run home now and cry to your mommy, but before that leave all your money here" said Kaede with a menacing look to her face.

The delinquent not wanting anymore of the situation dropped all his confiscated loot and ran the heck out of there. At that moment her group cheered for her victory while showering her with praise and compliments.

"Wow, you are so strong Kaede-san" said Kohta in awe.

"That was amazing" said Yuka.

"Oneesan was so cool" said Nyu with twinkles in her eyes.

"Awesome, you were more useful then oniichan" said Kanae with a bubbly look on her face.

"Hey" replied Kohta.

Now with excitement dying down Kohta then introduced the little one. "Kaede-san, Nyu-san, this is my little sister Kanae" to which Kanae gave them a friendly wave and smile.

Nyu immediately gave Kanae a strong hug waving her back and forth. "Awe she is so cute" smiled Nyu. Kanae having trouble breathing for that moment required to have the happy girl pried off her. She then came to Kaede to which she gave a serious look.

"You're very strong, will you be my oneesan?" said Kanae.

Kaede gave the girl a strange look, but decided to go along with it anyways. "I already have a sister, but I wouldn't mind having a little sister" she smiled.

Kanae immediately hugged her waist. "Oneesan!" she cried out.

Everyone sweat dropped at this, but for now decided to leave it be. So the group plus Kanae began their merry way again enjoying whatever was left of the festival with the procured 'contributions' from earlier. From game to game and stand to stand the group most definitely had a great time. But like all good things, they must come to an end. It soon drew close to 10 P.M. which was Kohta's departure time. So Mikomi who had recently met up with Yuka's parents took the children to the train station for their final good-byes.

"Well I guess this is good-bye for now" said Kohta sadly. "But we'll definitely be back next year to have way more fun".

"Good-bye oneesan!" Kanae cried out to which everyone gave another sweat drop too.

"Please come back soon Kohta" Yuka said on the verge of tears.

Nyu then looked sadly towards Kohta. "But we might not be able to come back next year".

But Mikomi immediately interjected to keep the relative atmosphere going, "Don't worry, you two can come back here next year to have fun with your friends". The twins then displayed a brilliant smile in anticipation for next year.

"So let us all meet back here next summer OK" said Kohta and with that all the female children gave a unanimous agreement. So then Kohta, Kanae, and their father entered the train which would carry them back to Hokkaido to begin their work year again. As the train left everyone at that station waved them good-bye. Soon Yuka and her parents began to leave followed with herself as well as her family.

However, right before she was about to take a step in the opposite direction a cold feeling shot up her spine. She then turned around to see as the train was beginning to leave. For the feeling she just got felt like the devil itself just reached out and grabbed her soul.

"Something doesn't feel right" said Kaede as she had a semi-premonition that something bad was supposed to happen today. "I need to be on that train!" as she shot her vector out to one of the carts which instantly pulled her body towards it.

"Hold on! Oneesan!" called Nyu as she grabbed her sister's hand which followed the linear momentum of the vector which was reeling the both of them towards the cart.

"Wait! You two!" yelled Mikomi in worry. For as they disappeared from her sight she still didn't understand what was going on at that moment. So she then turned on her powers to better understand the situation, but soon enough she felt something she has never felt before

"What is this heavy killing intent I feel?" asked Mikomi in great worry now. She then pulled out her cell phone and dialed the appropriate number.

"Hello! Police! There is going to be a terrible incident soon on the transit train to Hokkaido. Please hurry!" and with that she hung up. At this point in time she knew there was nothing more she can do but pray things turn out positively.

"_Please by OK_" hoping that nothing bad will happen to her daughters' this night.

To be continued . . . .

* * *

Author's notes: I apologize if it seems like I'm cramming this all into one space like this. But I really wanted to get this scene done in order to move onto the more important events later in the story. So next chapter if it doesn't seem obvious enough, Kaede and Nyu are going to meet the one responsible for all the killings thus far in the story.

So I thank you for your time in reading this fic and further extend my gratitude if you can review it as well.


	9. Karma

Chapter 9: Karma

Synopsis: No matter how fast you run or how far you get no one can truly outrun their fate. For even in a new world the echoes of the past will find a way to ripple towards the present. So on this night who is it that Kaede is going to meet? And why is that person here?

Reminder: I do not own Elfen Lied or any characters associated with it

"talking"

_thoughts_

_

* * *

_

Only half an hour had passed since the train had left to the urban city of Hokkaido. But it was during the first few minutes that Kaede and her sister had managed to stow away on the moving train. Now Nyu in the flare of the moment didn't understand what her sister was talking about. But she did know it had to have been important to be doing something as ludicrous as this.

"Oneesan, what is going on?" whispered Nyu as she and her twin were hiding in the baggage cart of the train.

"Shh, not now Nyu. I'll explain later" answered Kaede back as she peered around the corner for any type of security that may have been patrolling.

Nyu whimpered because not only was her sister acting coldly towards her, but she didn't seem to want to let her know what was going on. But she did know that she wouldn't act this way without good reason. Even though they didn't know each other that well Nyu could sense that her sister was not doing anything with ill intent, but rather something self-less.

After a close examination of her form Nyu could also tell that something really rattled her twin to the core. Besides the desperation in her voice she also appeared to be sweating profoundly which was followed by a bit of hyperventilation. At this time Nyu could only speculate on what could have spooked her perceivably strong sister into what she is now.

Now during Nyu's muse Kaede was looking around trying to make sure the coast was clear for them to ascend further down the train carts. However during this time hundreds of thoughts were racing in her mind about this sudden delusional episode.

"_Why am I thinking like a crazy person!_" as she looked back and forth for any security officers. "_This is just crazy; nothing is going to happen tonight . . . . but why do I have this ache in my heart that something bad is going to happen to Kohta?_"

She then clutched her hand over her chest in order to calm herself. "_Alright, I'll just check on him for now and afterwards we'll just head back_", but at that thought a bit of a sour look came onto her face. "God! I sound like some sort of deranged stalker".

"Stalker?" asked Nyu.

Kaede just realizing she had said her last thought out load became embarrassed about it. "Nothing, but anyways the path is clear now. The patrol guys are heading back towards the front cart. So let's get going now" she whispered.

Nyu nodded as the twins then began their approach towards the forward areas. But unusually enough the train itself seemed pretty empty with each cart they passed having no occupants aboard them. However it was pretty late and it shouldn't be expected that there would be really any passengers. Furthermore, there was still a big festival going on in Yokohama in addition to the fact it was still summer break. So it was most likely that most of the passengers were in the middle to front carts where the twins would expect Kohta to be.

Meanwhile somewhere in the middle carts, Kohta was chasing after his little sister who was playing around the back carts simply for the reason of being bored. Now as little Kanae was wondering in the back section of the train a familiar face caught her eye to who she eagerly wanted to greet. As she ran up to this particular person a warm smile could be seen plastered on her face.

"Oneesan! It's nice to see you again. But why are you here?" asked the small child.

"Oi! Kanae, Where did you go?" called out the girl's older brother.

"Oniichan, look oneesan is here" answered Kanae as she grabbed Kohta hand to pull him over to the said girl.

Kohta who was now in front of Kaede displayed his usual smile to her. "Kaede-san it is nice to see you again so soon, but how did you get on this train?" The boy then took notice to the appearance of his friend. For she was wearing the same white blouse and red skirt she had on the first day they met although minus the beanie which covered her horns. "Wow, you must have changed pretty fast, how did you do that?"

"Hmm, are those horns?" Kanae noticed as she once again approached Kaede wanting to have a feel of the two extra appendages to see if they were real.

But before the child could get into reaching distance of the horns a huge force was emitted which launched Kanae to the other side of the cart. Upon impact Kanae gasped out coughing up a mixture of saliva and blood. As her body slid to the ground she could only look up in shock at what her idol oneesan just did. At this point the child could only look up in terror as Kaede slowly crept towards her big brother.

Kohta seeing the display before him he was at a loss for words. Not only was his sister somehow flung ten feet across the floor, but what really got him was the person who was doing it. Kohta tried denying what was in front of him. But the fact was the person who just hurt his sister was the same person he called his friend. Kohta could only express both shock and disbelief as he looked back at Kaede.

"What was that? Why did you do that?" screamed Kohta.

Kaede simply stood there not uttering a word back while giving the poor boy a cold stare of indifference. However Kohta was not satisfied about his friend's mute behavior and so began to be more active about getting his response.

"Answer me! What did you do? Why did you do that to Kanae?"

The silent girl then turned her head towards him giving him a smile, but it wasn't the kind of friendly or warm smile that Kohta had seen on her before. No, it was the kind of smile that sent shivers down the spines of even the bravest of people. But then without a second thought Kohta could feel himself being lifted up into the air. The terrified boy then began to struggle at whatever was holding him, but obviously it was a futile attempt. Soon enough he felt his body being launched back at incredible speed and then pinned to the door leading into the next cart.

"Why . . . . why are you doing this?" Kohta choked out in both fear and sadness.

The horned girl then approached the scared boy in a painfully slow fashion. For each step the girl took he could sense that death was that much closer to him now. Finally after what seemed like an eternity of torment she was now finally in front of the boy and only had one thing to say. "Because you're an eyesore".

At that moment Kohta could feel an intense pain coursing on his shoulder. For Kaede had just slashed his right side area causing much blood to pour out. However the cut itself wasn't as bad as it seemed for it was shallow but severe enough to cause death if left untreated for too long. Kohta screamed out in pain, but he was soon going to realize what he felt now was just the appetizer for what his friend had in store for him. Soon enough he could feel intense pressure being built up on his arms and legs.

"_Why is this happening?_" was all Kohta could think as he continued to cry out in pain.

As if to answer his question, "You're someone I definitely wanted to kill. But I'm not going to kill you as gracefully as I have done to others. No, I'm going to make sure you relish every moment we spend together until you die" maniacally smiled his friend. At that ending statement he could feel his arms and legs being pulled off and all the while Kohta could only think one final kind thought, "_good-bye my friend_" as he thought about the girl who during their time together showed him a lonely yet beautiful smile.

"Kohta!"

With that call his pain immediately ceased as he found himself free from whatever was pinning him to the door. As he regained the feel for his limbs Kohta could not help but slide down onto the floor at what was before his eyes now. For his assailant was now pinned to the ceiling of the cart by . . . . Kaede!

"Kaede-san and . . . . Kaede-san" as he pointed from the girl on the ceiling to the girl who was now standing at the doorway from the last cart.

"Nyu! Get them out of here!" Kaede called as she maintained her focus on the doppelganger

"Hai!" and soon enough Nyu was by Kohta and Kanae side trying to get them to the next cart but was having difficulty since Kanae was both half in and out of consciousness while Kohta was still recovering from the shock.

"How are you doing that?" said Kohta as he managed to pick himself off the ground while still looking wide eyed at the phenomenon before him.

Kaede flinched at that question but still maintained her focus on her look alike. "That's . . . . That's not important right now! Just take Kanae and get out of here!"

With that outbreak Kohta snapped back into attention by assisting Nyu with moving his sister to a safer location. As they exited into the next cart Nyu looked back to her sister.

"I'll look after Kohta-kun and Kanae-san. So be careful oneesan" said Nyu both worriedly as well as reassuringly

Kaede nodded in response as the non-combatants exited the area. She then turned her full attention on the person she had pinned to the ceiling. For with all the commotion she didn't really take notice to who the attacker was for her only concern was protecting Kohta and getting the assailant away from him. But after realigning her focus back on target she came to a startling fact. The person looked exactly like her in every way right down to the details of her face to her particular style choice. However there was a key difference between them that anyone with decent perception could feel. That girl had the coldness of death surrounding her.

"Are you going to look at me till we die of boredom or are you going to do something?" asked the doppelganger.

Anger then began to twist Kaede face as she had the resist the temptation of ripping the attackers head off. "Who are you?"

The doppelganger then began to mockingly laugh at this question which only fueled Kaede in her already burning rage. But then the doppelganger instantly stopped laughing while looking dead eyed at Kaede before giving her any response.

"Who am I? I don't have a name, but the people at the facility for the longest time had chosen a name for me. For I am known to them as I will be known to you. My name is Lucy".

With that response an overwhelming force was generated throwing Kaede to the floor thus loosening her hold on Lucy to which she gently landed herself onto the ground. The rattled combatant immediately picked herself up to begin her counterattack as she sent her vectors towards Lucy. But the counter was too soft as Lucy had swatted all the vectors away and countered back with several vector attacks of her own.

Kaede unable to defend herself at that moment braced for impact. Soon several hard punches were felt. After a short beating, Kaede crumpled to the floor as blood began to seep out from different areas of her body. As she wavered between consciousness and unconsciousness she did manage to pick herself up slightly by her elbows while keeping one of her eyes open. Blood was beginning to seep from her head which forced her to keep her other eye closed to avoid damage.

Lucy smirked at the awful state her opponet was in. "Just wait there like a good girl; I want to have plenty of fun time with you later. But for now I really want to go and take care of that nuisance". Soon enough she turned around to make her way towards the next cart in order to find and kill the 'nuisance'. But before she could get any further she felt a hand stop her from progressing any further. Lucy then turned her head to look at her victim once again.

"And what do you think you're doing?" asked Lucy with cold indifference with a slight hint of annoyance.

Kaede who was using her vector powers to support her body slowly got up. But at this point in time her body was far to beaten to maintain a proper composure. It was also easy to see how hurt she was by the way her body trembled with each breath.

"I won't let you hurt Kohta" said Kaede as one eye gleamed with determination while the other remained shadowed under her bangs.

Lucy scoffed at this statement, for without a second moment of hesitation she threw Kaede to the other side of the cart which led to the front areas. Kaede who was using her vectors as body support managed to absorb most of the shock damage without too much difficulty. However the impact did put a strain on her mind which forced her to dissipate her powers thus leaving herself defenseless within the face of death.

"If you want me to play with you now I don't mind" evilly grinned Lucy as she started to advance forward.

Now at this point Kaede realized that she is no match for her opponent. Although they may have the same powers Lucy definitely had something she didn't. For that was the intent to kill her opponent without restraint or mercy. At this point all her beat up body could do was slide itself in front of the doorway to attempt to bar her path. Although such a thing seemed pointless as Lucy could easily rip her apart or throw her aside like a rag doll. But at this point all she could do now was wait for the end to come.

As she closed her eyes images of everyone she has ever cared for popped into her head. For what popped into her head was her dog, Nyu, Mikomi, Kanae, and even Yuka strangely enough. But the last image that came to mind was the person she would come to love for the rest of her life even though she didn't know it yet. For with Kohta in mind, Kaede could feel one last push to use her vector powers. For at this critical moment, she knew this would be the final decisive move of either living or dying now. But for the safety of her sister, Kanae, and Kohta she would not fail.

After a moment of watching Lucy finally reached the center of the cart that is when Kaede decided to begin her final stand. At this pivotal moment for her plan to work she launched all her vectors with the aim to cut everything in its path. However Lucy did not see much of a threat to this attack as she easily dodged them as they came for some of them didn't even seem to come right at her. But what surprised her then was the hard hit aimed for her center. For as the blow landed it knocked Lucy back five feet. But that is when Lucy realized what her opponent was really up too. The initial attack was a decoy for the vectors that missed were not meant for her and the vectors that were was just to make her think so. She then saw the vectors begin cutting and within the matter of a few seconds the cart they were in was completely severed in half.

As her side of the cart began to lose speed, Lucy stood up while crossing her arms. She could have made a vector enhanced jump, but in mid air she would have easily been swatted down without too much trouble. Lucy then displayed a grin as her cart began to go further and further away from the main train.

"I guess our fun time has been cut short, but we'll meet again eventually. You can count on that!"

Soon enough the cart Lucy was on disappeared from sight as Kaede kept her guard up to make sure she was definitely gone. As soon as she was completely out of sight without any possible trace of coming back she allowed herself to feel the fatigue wash over her as she felt her conscious leave.

"_I did it_" was the last thought she had before passing out, but before her mind completely lit off she heard her name being called by the people she cared for.

* * *

"_Where am I?_" thought Kaede as all she could see was darkness.

"_What happened to me?_" then thought the girl as she heard rhythmic beeps in the background.

"_Am I . . . . Am I dead?_" as she felt some pressure on her arm.

Slowly she opened her eyes as light began to fill them. She then looked to her left to see a young boy in a chair sleeping next to her and next to him a girl who looked just like her sleeping on him with a smaller girl on her. Finally there was a chestnut haired girl sleeping on the boy's other side.

Kaede smiled at the display of affection that her friends and family had shown her. But then that is when Mikomi and Kohta's father entered the room. The two of them had a short chat before Kohta's father left to get something with Mikomi staying behind to watch over them.

"How are you feeling?" she asked.

"I feel OK" Kaede responded. She then took notice of the ruined yukata from last night's battle. "I'm sorry for ruining it".

Mikomi then walked up to her daughter and gave her a gentle hug. "It doesn't matter; cloths can always be replaced but never lives". After the hug the grown women looked to her daughter for an explanation. "Do you know who that was last night?"

With that question, the hospitalized diclonius averted her eyes as a show that she didn't wish to answer. Mikomi who saw this action decided not to push the matter until Kaede was ready to speak about it.

At this trade the four sleeping children were awakened from their slumber. Kanae was the first to speak.

"I knew that fake wasn't the real oneesan. Oneesan is a kind person" Kanae said as two watery saucers took the place of her eyes.

"I'm glad everything turned out alright" then said Yuka.

Kaede then remembered the incident in which she could not recall what had happened after she passed out. So the most obvious question was asked.

"What happened after the fi . . . . I mean after the incident?"Kaede corrected

Kohta decided to fill in this gap. "After a huge shrieking sound me and Nyu-san went back to look for you, and when we found you, you were in a horrible state. I thought you were going to die".

"Kohta-kun cried also" added in Nyu.

"No I didn't" said Kohta in embarrassment and at that everyone shared a calming laugh.

"But anyways the police arrived rather quickly and took us all to the hospital in Hokkaido. They seem to say it was some sort of terrorist act at why the train was split in half" and with that comment Kaede gave off a comedic sweat drop since she could sense her mother wanting to give her a lecture on not destroying public property. But that is when she felt a deafening seriousness come from Kohta as if he wanted to get something off his shoulders.

"Kaede-san, there is something I really want to ask you".

Kaede definitely knew where this was heading and Mikomi could sense it as well simply from deducing the events of last night followed by what the boy was currently feeling.

"Kohta-kun, I don't think this is a proper time for questions as Kaede is still recovering" said Mikomi.

But before Kohta could pursue the matter Kaede had already interjected. "It's OK mother, he can ask if he wants".

Kohta hesitated for a moment before asking. "Do you have powers?"

The horned girl wasn't too sure how to answer because whatever she said now could either make or break the bond she had with Kohta. But something like this had to come out eventually. So doing so now would be better than any time later.

"Yes" she answered while looking down. "I'm a freak like that and I know these powers really scared you last night". Kaede then looked towards Kohta on the verge to tears "and if you don't want to be friends anymore I'll understand".

Mikomi could feel the pain of her daughter welling up inside as well as her own at watching her suffer. However she knew that if she were to interfere then nothing was going to be resolved. For a long lasting friendship must be based on truth and honesty. So if she were to intervene now she would effectively destroy any chance her daughter had at making friends let alone reaching out into this world.

Now in Kohta's case, he was scared of the mysterious power that his horned friend had. But what made him different from other people was his heart. For the fact was he was not the kind of person to judge things on face value alone. It was also a fact he knew Kaede personally. The girl was a good person and a normal girl underneath it all. So with all this in mind he gave the diclonius his answer.

"I might not understand everything, but I won't stop being your friend over something like that. Besides you did save my life as well as Kanae so I do owe you big time" Kohta smiled.

After listening to such words Kaede felt an overwhelming happiness swell in her as she jumped out to hug him. But she immediately had to stop as Kohta shoulder was still in the process of healing. At that everyone gave a warm laugh lifting the mood in toast to the more solid friendship that was formed.

* * *

After a few days of recovery everyone had to head back to their respected homes. Yuka was first to leave with her parents back home in Yokohama. Mikomi had made arrangements for their belongings to be transferred to Kamakura as soon as they eventually got a transit there. But once again Kaede and Nyu had to have another teary good-bye with a friend they considered to be close to them.

"I guess this is good-bye again" said Kaede.

"Yeah" replied Kohta.

But then like a surprise attack Nyu glomped Kohta from behind. "I'm going to miss you the most Kohta-kun".

Kohta who was recovering from the attack sat up with the pink haired girl still attached to him. "Yes, I'm going to miss you too Nyu-san".

Kaede feeling slightly annoyed tried to pry her sister off her male friend. In order to do so she had to force Nyu into a full nelson hold. But interestingly enough Nyu was a lot stronger then she looked because Kaede had to even use her vectors as muscle support to hold her sister back. Eventually Nyu did calm down enough to give Kohta a proper good-bye which still ended with a pincer like hug.

But eventually she did release Kohta in which he then gave a nice pat on Kaede shoulder.

"Well until next year" smiled Kohta.

"Until then" smiled Kaede.

At that the two families made their departure as the Hikaru family boarded a train to take them back to their busy lives in Kamakura.

* * *

Within the passing of a week back in Kamakura, Kaede was enjoying her new family life. For the building she lived in was a nice two story family house within a nice residential district. The house had a cozy atmosphere to it with all the possible necessities a family could need. Although she had the option to have her own room she didn't mind sharing a room with Nyu as they were both twins and that Nyu did add some spunk into her life. Now during the course of that week Mikomi did as much as she could to integrate Kaede into her new life. One of the few things was to purchase a new attire of cloths for her daughter to wear. Though Kaede was fine with her current style she didn't mind the new change as a show to her new chapter in life.

But then there was something that Mikomi had in mind that she definitely wanted to ask her daughters. However she was still hesitant about it.

"Kaede, Nyu, what do you think about public school?"

To be continued . . . .

* * *

Author's notes: Yep Lucy is back as well, but why she is back won't be revealed until later. But anyways I hope this chapter was entertaining to read. As for Kohta's father he was given the police report rather than the actual fact of the matter. So he is still in the dark about how his son really got hurt. As for Yuka she did receive the whole story, but just like Kohta she is also a very understanding person.

So I thank you for your time in reading this fic and further extend my gratitude if you can review it as well.


	10. First Day

Chapter 10: First Day

Synopsis: The first day of school for most people can be rather unnerving to say the least. But it is usually the first day which will reflect the rest of your life within the rest of one academic career. So in this event how will Kaede fare amongst "normal" people and will she be able to leave a good impression without killing someone in the process.

Reminder: I do not own Elfen Lied or any characters associated with it

"talking"

_thoughts_

_

* * *

_

"What?" was all Kaede could say at the ludicrous question that she was asked.

Her mother had just suggested that she should attend a public school with those 'monsters!' But Mikomi stood her ground about what she said. On that note Kaede started feeling as if her own mother was being insensitive to her feelings towards people who weren't 'special'. So with this in mind the youngling had no problem saying what was on her mind.

"What are you talking about? Why do we have to be around such people?" demanded Kaede. Now although Nyu wasn't being vocal about the matter she was still in agreement with her sister.

Mikomi didn't like forcing her kids through such a burden, but she knew if they were going to live out their lives in relative harmony then they needed to learn to how better associate with the people around them.

"You do know that Kohta-kun came from such people" said the elderly women with sharpness in her voice.

At that statement Kaede had to bite her tongue. Her face then started to twist in not knowing how to approach this matter. The fact was her mother was right about the situation. Before she could say a rebuttal her mother had more to say.

"Listen Kaede, you can't live your entire life in seclusion. If you ever choose to live out there in the world with others you need to be able to know how to approach people" said Mikomi.

Kaede still wasn't buying her argument. "I don't need other people".

"Oh and what if someday you want to get closer to Kohta?" she then asked.

The young disclonius blushed at that thought. Mikomi then looked to her other daughter. "How do you feel about this?"

Nyu didn't really have much to say, but she was still distant from the idea. Years before when Mikomi had attempted to get her near other children she was immediately picked on due to her horns. During Nyu's time with other kids she was mercilessly and viciously bullied to almost the extent of being beaten half to death because of her unique features. After that event Mikomi immediately pulled her out and did home schooling for her. Since Mikomi job was a programming technician it allowed her to stay home and take care of her full-time.

But with the recent exposure to having a sister now and meeting Kohta, she decided upon one action. "I'll do what oneesan decides to do".

This forced Kaede to form a dumbfounded expression on her face. "_No pressure right_".

After some thought the young girl came to a conclusion. "Alright . . . . I'll give it a try".

Mikomi smiled towards her daughters. Now she knew her earlier statement was a low blow since she was aware of how her kids felt about their special male friend. However after what she had witnessed a week ago with Kohta she knew she couldn't keep her children sheltered forever. Even if she did, when she was gone her daughters would then be forced to face the world where things would be socially awkward for them. So it was better now that they face the world when they are young rather than being old and unable to adapt.

"Starting tomorrow you two will begin elementary so be prepared" smiled Mikomi as her children agreed with her to the following day.

* * *

The day soon came as the twins were now going to be enrolled into the Nishi Kamakura Elementary school. Now the girls were nervous as hell to say the least at being entered into a public school. Kaede strangely enough was still dressed in her usual attire, but for now her mother decided not to bother her on it. As for Nyu she was dressed in one of her nice dresses with a sleeved shirt underneath it. Now as the girls and their mother made their way to the main office they felt as if spiders were crawling all over their bodies. Almost everyone on the black top were looking at them. But one couldn't really blame them since they exhibited some interesting features. Both Kaede and Nyu had their horns covered with a beanie and ribbon respectively. But what caught onlookers eyes were their "human" characteristics. Pink hair and crimson eyes wasn't exactly something that anyone would see in Japan. Some speculated they were foreigners while others believed they just had their hair dyed. But nonetheless it was going to be an interesting start for the girls.

After registration with the main office the twins were then assigned their home room to which they would begin their academic career. Now the fact that they were transfer students entering the fourth grade, their sudden appearance and unique looks were pretty much the talk of the school about whom they were and where they had come from.

Now as Kaede and Nyu entered the classroom they were being greeted with curious eyes from the students who had been at the school since kindergarten. Mikomi could only look from outside the doorway hoping things would turn out okay. As the door closed in front of her she waved good-bye to them to which they responded with the same action. Now this event was one of the hardest things she had to do. It felt like they were leaving her all over again. However she knew this was for their future and couldn't have second thoughts about this now. So she then turned around to head home in order to prepare a warm meal for her children upon their return.

The twins then stood before the class with their names written on the black board. The teacher of the class stood forward to give them their introductions.

"Now class, we have two new transfers entering this room I expect you all to treat them warmly and respectfully" the teacher then faced the twins. "If you would introduce yourselves now".

Kaede gave a half bow in show of a respectful greeting while keeping a neutral expression. "Greetings, my name is Kaede Hikaru. I am in your care."

Nyu then stepped forward with a big smile on her face for her introduction. "Hello! My name is Nyu Hikaru. Please treat me well".

After their introduction the teacher then assigned them their seats which were on opposite sides of the room. Now the class session was relatively normal for the most part. They went through the work of what an elementary class would do. By lunch the girls were immediately surrounded by the entire class who were curious of their origin. The questions they asked were common to what any kid would ask such as their ethnicity, their age, their natural hair color, what they like to eat, and etc of other things.

Now the twins felt uneasy about the sudden attention. But for the most part it seemed positive without any perceivable notice of incoming physical or mental abuse. However one girl out of the entire crowd caught Kaede attention when she spoke.

"You have really pretty hair" said a chestnut haired girl.

Kaede looked to the said girl but was still very wary from her past experience. "Thank you".

The said girl smiled to her. "My name is Suki, it's nice to meet you".

"Yeah" was all Kaede could think of as a response.

Soon enough as the interrogation began it came to an end along with the lunch period. In Kaede mind she could only think about the peculiar girl she interacted with moments ago. "_Hmm, something seems odd about her_".

After some time had passed, class was officially over for everyone to head home. Now in the twin's case their home was in easy walking distance to return too. But before Kaede and her sister could leave she was immediately stopped by a familiar face from earlier.

"Kaede-san, do you have some time? I was wondering if you could help me with something?" asked Suki.

The pink haired girl could only look at her with anticipation. "_Why is she nervous?_" thought Kaede as she stared into the girls eyes, but decided she was just being paranoid about this matter. "OK, sure"

She then looked to her sister. "Nyu, wait for me at the gate. I'll be right back"

Nyu nodded to her sister's request. "OK oneesan". But little did either of them know that things were going to become ominous for them very soon.

As Nyu made her way to the front gate it was close to closing hours as most of the students had already left for their homes. With little adults and administrators around the school was pretty much abandoned for the day until tomorrow.

"_I wonder when oneesan is going to come back_" thought Nyu. However, unbeknownst to the young disclonius a dark figure with malicious intentions came right behind her. If Nyu had noticed a moment sooner she would have had time to scream.

Kaede followed quietly behind Suki curious at what she had wanted. But what made her more curious was why they were moving to such a remote area. At first she thought they were going to visit a garden. However that thought was removed as they had passed it moments ago. Now Kaede with her experience was getting a bit paranoid about what was going on.

"Is this going to take any longer? I really need to take my sister home" said Kaede.

Suki flinched at this statement. "Do . . . . Don't worry, we're almost there" she said with a stutter

Kaede ignored her reaction thinking it was just part of who she was.

After some time Suki had stopped walking and had arrived to a seemingly deserted area within a park near the school. Kaede looked around to possibly see why this girl had wanted her here in the first place. "So why are we here?" she asked.

"It's about time you showed up. What you took you so long?"

Kaede then looked a few feet a head to see a familiar male from her class walk out of the brush. But soon followed by him were other boys who were most likely from the same school as they started to appear around her. After a quick assessment it was obvious they were all delinquents.

The pink haired girl then looked to Suki. "What's the meaning of this?" she demanded. However Suki didn't bother to answer as she walked out of the flanking circle without looking back.

"The name's Kaido, you better remember it" he said as he started to approach her. As he approached reaching distance of her he then began to scan her. "You're such a freak".

Kaede could only tense at that statement, but immediately calmed down not wanting to show her emotions. "What kind of person has pink hair?" Kaido then asked as he lifted his hand to her hair. Upon feeling it he then grabbed a handful and began to yank on it. In response to the sudden pain Kaede pushed the boy away to get distance away from him. However due to the counter Kaido ended up tripping and falling on his rear. The delinquent winced at the slight pain and then felt irritated about her defiance.

"So you want to play like that huh?" and with a wave of his hand another boy came out with a scared girl in tow.

"Nyu!" screamed Kaede.

"Oneesan!" called back Nyu but was then gagged by her captor

Kaido then looked to Kaede with a sneer on his face. "You better stand there and take what I give you or else your sister is going to take your place".

Kaede froze solid at this threat. She knew all the possible choices she could make, but none of them were acceptable to take. One, she could take them all on by fighting each of them with a vector enhanced body. But doing so she would take too long and something could happen to Nyu. Another option was to use her vectors to knock them all out simultaneously. However there were too many to get at the same time plus with viewing eyes she dared not to reveal her powers to such people. Her final option was to simply silence them for good. But she immediately shook her head at that idea since such a thing would go against her promise. So she then came to a conclusion to what she must do as she lowered her hands to her side while looking down.

"That's a good girl" Kaido said as he smeared a handful of mud in her face. At that action his friends started chucking and throwing any garbage they could find at the defenseless girl. After a good while she was covered from head to toe in filth. But it wasn't over yet as Kaido pushed the young disclonius to the ground and proceeded to kick her. Soon enough his friends started to join in. However Kaede was OK with this since her vectors protected her and her attackers were none the wiser to know the difference. But then . . . .

"What 's up with this ugly hat" said one of the boys as he attempted to pull it off

"No!" exclaimed Kaede as she tried to keep it on her head. At that outburst a kick managed to hit her stomach. On reflex she had to let go of the beanie while protecting herself from the continuous attacks. The group of boys was astonished to what they saw.

"She is a freak" said one of the boys in the group.

"Hey she has horns too" said Nyu's captor as he yanked the ribbon off her head.

With that, both verbal and physical insults started to fly, but Kaede made sure their attention was solely on her in order to protect Nyu from the pain. However Nyu was still hurting as she was forced to watch her sister be viciously attacked and unable to do anything about it. But after some time the boys got tired and had their fun for the day. As they left they threw Kaede beanie to the ground while throwing Nyu in front of her. During this time Kaede could only think back to her life in the orphanage at how the children had treated her. But more recently to Rika and the boys she was with. However when she started to see Suki in the same way something didn't seem quite right. She was uncertain why, but it was something she would think about later.

"I'm so sorry oneesan" cried Nyu as she tried to help Kaede back to her feet. "If I weren't here you could have beaten them all". The sad child then felt a pat on her head. She looked up to see her elder give her a reassuring look.

"Don't worry its fine. As long as you are alright" said Kaede, and with that Nyu began to cry deeper.

After some duration of time the twins walked home thinking about the terrible first day they had. But as they reached the front door they were immediately confronted by their mother.

"Where were you two?" exclaimed Mikomi with worry in her eyes. She then looked to the most serious of the pair to see her in a deplorable state. "What happened to you? Why are you like that?"

Kaede at this point saw a perfect opportunity to leave school for good. For with recent incident of the terrible children, the discovery of her horns, and how Nyu was placed in a dangerous position it wouldn't take much to convince their mother for them to leave. However something still bugged her about how this all happened.

"I . . . . I kind of ran into a trash can and I got really dirty because of it" said Kaede. "Isn't that right? Nyu?"

The ditzy girl jolted at the sudden involvement. For her sister had just told their mother a big fat lie. But she decided to play along for now. "ye . . . . yes that's right" stuttered Nyu.

"Hmm OK then, but please come home as soon as you can next time" she then gave the child another look down. "Well go get yourself cleaned up and ready for dinner".

"OK okaasan" said Nyu as she began dragging her twin towards the bathroom.

As they left a sorrowful look came about Mikomi face. Call it her powers of empathy or a mother's instinct, but she knew they were lying to her about what had happened. She may have not known exactly what occurred, but she did know it was rather frightening and sad. However Mikomi slowly turned about and went to the kitchen to prepare the meal they will share. "_Just don't have any regrets about your choices_".

Meanwhile as Nyu and Kaede got cleaned up she became curious to why she had lied moments earlier, and so she asked. "Why did you lie to okaasan?" Nyu said with a sad look in her eyes.

Kaede placed herself on the rim of the tub looking at nothing in particular. She then leaned her head on her forearms pondering that same question. "There's just something that I feel isn't resolved yet" and with that they simply ended the conversation got dressed and went to dinner.

* * *

As the next day came things turned from bad to worse at school when rumors were being passed around about what Kaede and Nyu were. For the rumors then turned to gossip about what they were hiding and in turn what they were. In relation to this Kaido and his gang of punks made life much harder than it had to be with either there pranks or physical beatings. But the next day is when things were going to change depending on the choice Kaede makes.

A week after their first day of school the twins walked into class to see something written on the blackboard. With chalk and in big read letters it read "get out of here you freaks!" with emphasis on the last word. At seeing this Nyu clasped her hands over her face ready to break down and cry from the cruelty of such words. However Kaede looked to the back of the class as Kaido simply smirked at them with pride at what he had written. Anger then began to contort on her face at the sheer malice of such an action. Without even thinking she stomped her way towards the front and center of class and pulled her beanie off for all to see.

"Yeah I've got horns on my head! Is there a problem with that?" said Kaede in a outburst.

At that sudden exposure some were shocked at what they saw. Immediately after, whispers were then bounced around between the classmates at what it meant. Some of the audible whispers were questioning if the horns were real or if she and Nyu were even human. But what stood out the most was a laughter coming from the back of the class.

"You've exposed yourself for the freaks you are. So why don't you take your ugly sister and get out of here!" shouted the arrogant punk as he walked to the front of the class.

However Kaede didn't back down from his advancement because if she was going to forced to leave then she was sure as hell going to give this loud mouth jerk a beating as a good-bye present.

"You, me, today at lunch, back of the school" she challenged.

Kaido not wanting to look weak accepted before going back to his seat to start class. As the twins took their seats Kaede took a glance at the girl who led her into a trap, but she didn't look back. Furthermore she just sat there in her seat quietly as if nothing happened just moments ago.

Soon enough class began, and as things progressed she would give her opponent an intimidating glare to which he would return as well. But after what seemed like an eternity lunch came to which many of her classmates ran out the door. Her guess was that there were most likely going to spread what they saw as well as tell everyone about the fight. Also at that time Kaido had gotten up to head to the back of the school. For as he strode there he had an overwhelming confidence that he would easily win since his opponent was beaten so easily the last time not to mention it was a girl.

As soon as he left Kaede had also gotten up to make good on her personal promise of beating the living crap out of him. But before she could walk out the door a hand latched onto her. Expecting it to be Nyu she was surprised to see someone else.

"You shouldn't go" said Suki.

Kaede simply looked at the girl as if she was stupid or something. But as she looked into her eyes she saw something she wasn't expecting to see. The pink haired girl simply pulled her arm away. "I have issues to solve with that monkey. So don't interfere" Kaede said harshly and soon enough was out the door following the prick.

As she walked she saw several kids run by her towards the back of the school. Curious to why, she eventually arrived to practically see the entire school there minus the adults wanting to see this scuffle. Upon her arrival an instant pathway was made to allow her entrance to the circle where Kaido stood there waiting for her. Kaede slowly walked to the center as the mass of kids began to close behind her as if to prevent her escape. But finally in the center the two combatants stared each other down as most fighters would do at school. In the background chants could be heard for them to fight with most of the audible cheers going to Kaido telling him to beat her back to hell or things along that line.

"So I see you didn't run away" smirked Kaido.

"And I see you had enough brain power to know where the back of the school was" provoked Kaede as she removed her beanie once again revealing her horns. Talk immediately started to fly.

Some of the children "ohh"ed at the sight while others did it for the trash talk that was exchanged. Kaido not wanting to lose face then gave his female opponent a shove. But as he began to apply force he found that he couldn't make her budge.

Kaede smirked at this while taking one hand and easily pushed Kaido to the ground with a little assistance from her vectors. As he landed he was immediately laughed at for the clumsy move and the fact he was overpowered by a girl. The delinquent feeling enraged about this embarrassment instantly got up and started throwing punches at the pink haired disclonius. But easily enough Kaede parried each of the attacks with her vectors while under the ruse of appearing like she was dodging each blow. With that barrage she then took advantage and kicked him in the shin which then sent Kaido onto one leg in order to grab his sore spot. The crowd laughed again at his expense. But not wanting to take any further shame Kaido waved his hand to which his gang of friends then entered the circle. Some from the crowd cheered for the fight while others called it unfair due to the numerical odds. However Kaede wasn't intimidated to say the least as she then focused her vectors to wrap around her body to give her that physical boost once more. As the fighting heated up again the young disclonius was like a tank, for whatever the other kids did they were either blocked or hit back hard enough to have them coughing up spit or vomit for a while. But Kaido then saved his trump card for last as one of his friends then moved to the front of the circle with his leverage.

"Nyu!" called Kaede seeing as her sister was captured again. For she then berated herself for allowing harm to once again come to her innocent sister.

Kaido gave a chuckle at this. "Now why don't you be our good punching bag" and soon enough the rest of his delinquent pals were up and ready to break the one who had just hurt them badly moments ago.

At the sight of the situation Kaede shivered between her choices of fighting or allowing herself to be beaten. But soon enough the young girl could only submit to their demands as she rested her hands to her sides in a show of compliance. She knew she couldn't use her vectors for protection as that would expose a secret she didn't want anyone to know. So whatever they had in store for her she had no choice but to take it head on.

Some people who were aware of the current situation even those who were cheering for Kaido's group thought this was really dirty to do. But none of them dared to take any action as they were also afraid of being beaten for helping the strange girl. Soon enough Kaede found herself in a full nelson lock by one of the bigger boys of the group leaving her front completely open to attack. At this point the rest of the boys were deciding who would take turns hitting her first. Now some of the kids who were watching this were either bored or disgusted how things turned out and soon left.

After some deliberation Kaido was chosen as the first to take his shots. The pink haired youth then watched with anticipation at the beating she was going to receive. As Kaido approached her with an ugly smile on his face the young disclonius could only close her eyes on reflex to endure what she was going to receive. But Kaede was soon going to be surprised at the unexpected help she would receive.

"Let go of her!" yelled a brown haired girl

The boy who had captured Nyu was trying to shake off Suki who was attempting to save the poor kid. Within a moment of chance Nyu then bit down hard on her captors arm resulting in her release and soon to be escape.

"What the hell are you doing?" yelled Kaido who saw this action.

Kaede seeing the break she needed rewrapped her vectors around her limbs once again and kicked the ground forcing her up. The sudden movements made the bigger boy release his arms to which Kaede followed up by flipping over him while grabbing his shoulder, she then proceeded to allow gravity to take over as she then slammed her captor to the ground. Kaido and his miscreant buddies were shocked at what they saw. The horned girl then slowly walked to them while cracking her knuckles.

"You not only show me one heck of a greeting party, but you torment me for the entirety of this week. You didn't just wreck my desk, my backpack, and any other belongings I had, but you also had to hurt my sister too. These are things I can't forgive" said Kaede in a disturbingly dark tone as a comedic dark shadow covered her eyes while she cracked her last knuckle. In that instant the fight ended with her easily coming about as victor as she stood upon her pile of victims.

After the whole fight, things were quickly swept under the rug to keep things quiet and not allow teachers to make a headache of the event. Because of the fight not only was Kaede and Nyu seen as horned monsters but freakishly strong too which then led them to be called things like demons or ogres. In the end of the day Kaede didn't care about any of that as she was satisfied with showing some primitive minded people their place. Furthermore Nyu was simply glad that things turned out OK.

The next day soon came as the twins walked into class to which an unpleasant sight came to Kaede eyes. For it seemed Kaido hadn't learned his lesson as he was now venting his anger on the poor chestnut haired girl who had helped them yesterday.

"It's your entire fault Suki. If you hadn't interfered we would have easily beaten that b**ch" said Kaido as he was yanking at his victims hair. But before he could get another good pull he found that he couldn't move as his wrist was being grabbed by the girl who had beaten him down viciously the day before. Kaido jerked but was unable to move back.

"Let go of me" he pleaded.

However she ignored this and stared him right in the eye as would a vicious animal would do to an invader in its territory. "Let's make one thing clear. You are to leave everyone out of your apparent stupidity, and if you so ever bother me or anyone else in this lifetime I'll make sure you never walk again".

The delinquent didn't know what it was, but some part of him instinctively knew to take this warning to heart as he found himself close to peeing his pants. As soon as he was released he immediately got back to his desk and from that point on Kaido would be known for his submissiveness and immediate apologies for many years to come.

But back in the present Suki looked up to her pink savior, "why did you help me?" she asked.

"Just repaying a debt" replied Kaede.

"Then why are you treating me so nicely now?" then asked Suki as she averted her eyes to avoid looking into those of the girl in front of her. But upon asking the school bell rang to which signaled the beginning of class. So at this time the child disclonius then took her seat.

But before she was out of hearing range she did have one last thing to say. This was the reason why she wasn't able to leave school in the first place. "Because you were a victim of hate too" and with that Suki became wide eyed and close to tears at that response. Somehow Kaede understood she was also being bullied and was forced to do those terrible things to her. As class began a faint smile could be seen on her face as she thought about what she could do for her savior and her sister.

Soon the next day came with people still referring to the twins as monsters of many sorts. However something was different today as it stood out in full view for the entire class to see, and that was a particular girl wearing giant ribbons in her hair in representation to rabbit ears.

"What are you doing?" asked Kaede as she looked upon the brown haired girl's new feature.

"Kawaii!" said Nyu as a bit of a shine came to her eyes.

Suki simply looked up and smiled "I just thought it looked cool".

Tomorrow then arrived with more kids having animal appendages on their head to which some thought was odd at first. But soon enough, day by day more girls in school started coming in with a little extra on their head be it either cat ears or extensions for elf ears. In the span of half a month, it was the latest craze to have. Even some boys were getting into it by wearing mecha head pieces. But nonetheless this action warmed a place inside Kaede's heart in which she didn't feel so ashamed anymore about her horns. Heck, she was kind of estranged yet happy she started an odd fashion trend. Although some kids still thought it was freaky for the twins to have real horns it didn't really matter much to the majority since some were envious not being able to stand out like that. But as time passed, the trend began to die as both Kaede and Nyu slowly returned to the precious items that covered them. Though it was public knowledge they had horns it didn't really seem to matter anymore as the girls themselves glowed with a special spark which entranced the people around them. For Nyu quickly became quite popular with many groups of people being either boys or girls due to her innocent and pure nature as well as her curiosity for the unknown. Even Kaede became a bit of star amongst the girls because of her strength and fighting ability. Although she acted a bit distant and cold at times she did have her warm moments in certain occurrences. When it came to putting the boys back in line any girl in the school knew who to come to in order to straighten them out.

However on this day Suki was the first to start the ball rolling for the rest of their school lives and eventually the day came to an end with little to no trouble. As they returned home, they were met by the warm smile of their loving mother.

"How was your day at school today?" asked Mikomi.

Kaede and Nyu looked to each other with a smile and then looked to their mother. "It was great!" they said in unison as they laughed together. Mikomi simply watched on with a smile as she prayed that their happiness would never disappear again. Soon enough the family of three sat to have dinner together with of course Kohta (the dog) next to the table.

To be continued . . . .

* * *

Author's notes: I hope everyone enjoyed this chapter, and yes Nishi Kamakura Elementary is a real place. Now as for the character Suki I'm not certain if she will be appearing in any future chapters. But that will have to wait to be seen. However I hope this chapter seemed realistic to a certain extent, but then again what do I know.

So I thank you for your time in reading this fic and further extend my gratitude if you can review it as well.


	11. 3rd Summer

Chapter 11: 3rd Summer

Synopsis: Summer is a time for people to rest and relax from their time of hard work. But it is also an important time to get things done ranging from unfinished work to trying to get a leg up on your love rival. But in this heated time of the season many interesting things could occur for those bold enough to step up to the occasion.

Reminder: I do not own Elfen Lied or any characters associated with it

"talking"

_thoughts_

_

* * *

_

"Oh god! I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!" said the boy who was being pinned to a locker by a familiar pink haired diclonius.

"If you're sorry then give her back her stuff" said Kaede in a comedic dark tone.

Instantly the scared boy returned the stolen belongings without fail as he ran off screaming at the top of his lungs. The victimized girl then turned to Kaede and gave her a grateful smile.

"Thank you Kaede-san you're always so dependable" smiled the girl as she too began to leave

Kaede sighed at this. She had been doing this for the better part of two years during the course of her fourth and fifth grade school semester. It has been one disaster after another as she had to practically fight the entire schools populace of bullies. Now the bullying wasn't aimed at her but more towards the general student community. However the reason to why she was always so involved was because people would always keep coming to her for help either needing her protection or getting something back. At first it seemed fine from time to time as some of the girls would ask her to help straighten out some troublemaker boys. But it started to seem a bit excessive when even the boys started to come to her for the same services. Kaede sighed again but this time broke into a smile. Although it did seem troublesome it was nice to have the feeling of being needed like that where people could depend on you.

"Oneesan!" called Nyu as she ran down the hallway towards her. "You are staying out of trouble right?"

"Yeah yeah" she replied

As she looked to her sister she could only feel but a little envious towards her. Even after so much time after their horn incident people still liked Nyu a lot. Now of course she wasn't envious of her sister because of that since people liked her too. But actually it was her lifestyle she envied.

Kaede smiled towards her. Nyu was still a very ditzy, simple, yet very sweet twin sister. After people had gotten the chance to know her she became well liked amongst many groups of boys and girls for simply her characteristics.

The young diclonius continued to look at her sometimes wishing she could be so carefree. But immediately came to the conclusion that one of them had to be the serious one and take out the trash when it came along . . . . Right?

Nyu then displayed one of her signature smiles she liked to show everyone. "Oneesan, are you excited about this summer?"

Kaede smiled deeply to this. During the summer between her fourth and fifth grade year she got to meet Kohta again. Now in that vacation time she got to spend a few moments with Kohta alone while they were in the park and at the beach. A bit of a devilishly grin couldn't help but appear on her face when she remembered how she pretended to be drowning and forced Kohta to jump in to 'save' her. However it didn't go quite as planned when both Yuka and Kanae jumped in to 'help' as well. But nonetheless it was still a good memory. Speaking of Yuka she was still a bit wary of her presence due to her powers. However she couldn't really blame her since this was the same power which had cleaved a train in half just two years ago. But she was still glad that she wasn't getting the wrong idea and more so that Kohta was still understanding of her.

"Come on oneesan, we are going to be late for class" pouted Nyu as she took her hand to lead her away to class.

Now after school the twins eagerly began to pack their stuff in preparation for tomorrow's trip to Yokohama to meet up with Kohta's family.

Kaede who had finished packing her luggage lay on her bed to look at the ceiling. She then heard barking to which she turned to look. Instantly a smile lit up on her face as she picked the dog up and started to pet it. Then after a while she laid back down only to lift the pooch above to stare at for a while.

"_I wonder what Kohta will be like this year?_" thought Kaede as she continued to look at the dog in her hands. The last year she saw him he had definitely grown a bit in physique, but still retained the same personality which attracted her. She then refocused herself back to the dog as she smiled. During the times of the school year she found it quite comforting to look at her first friend as it reminded her of his human counterpart.

She then gave an internal laugh at when the two Kohta's were introduced to each other. After the incident she couldn't contain her laughter when Kohta thought he was being ordered around like a dog to sit, shake, and eat during certain times. When the event was cleared up the boy could only display a sour face at the situation he was put through. His intelligence was being compared to that of a dog of all things. Then for the rest of the summer she never let it down as even Kanae and Nyu were getting in on it by making dog commands and petting him on the head. But all jokes aside everyone still got along just fine afterwards.

Kaede then turned on the television to watch some programs that may be on. Upon activation a health program was on as it talked about the recent well being of the Japanese community. On this channel it talked about how one could better take care of their hearts with exercise and better diet. Now the reason to why the focus of this show was based on cardio vascular activity was because lately there has been a bizarre string of deaths related to heart attacks. But she found it odd that so many people could have died in such a short amount of time. With this fact Kaede felt that feeling again that she was somehow responsible for those events. She then thought about her doppelganger that named herself Lucy. Since the time they crossed each other Kaede had always felt that at any moment that scary girl would come after her or Kohta. But she never came, and as weeks began to fall off the calendar she started to feel more relieved that nothing has happened. However the pink diclonius understood that one day she would have to face her, but the way things are now she stood no chance in beating her. But for now she decided to let things be as they are now and when the time came when she had to fight Lucy again she'd do everything in her power to beat her.

"Kaede get your stuff together" called Mikomi from the living room area.

"Coming" replied Kaede while still holding her dog used her vectors to bring her baggage along. As she got prepped with her mother and sister for the trip, a single thought came to mind. "_I'm definitely going to get closer to Kohta this summer_".

* * *

The next day after a long train ride to the transit station the family of three plus a dog disembarked to breath in the hot humid summer air of Yokohama with expectations of a good time to come. But at that same time another family had just disembarked from their origin of Hokkaido.

"Kaede-san! Nyu-san!" called Kohta as he began to wave to them.

"Kohta!" called Kaede as she began to run to him, but was promptly stopped by a girl half her size as Nyu ran past her to meet Kohta instead. She then showed a goofy face as her arm still reached out shaking still trying to reach her male friend. She then looked down to see to a pair of shining eyes look back as the girl still latched onto her.

"Oneesan!" said Kanae, "I've missed you so much over the year. But I've definitely gotten stronger to be just like you" which was true. Since the last summer the two had met, Kanae had just gotten into some rather demanding physical extracurricular activities. Some of these activities involved swimming, track, martial arts, and some other excessive stuff. Even Kaede found this level of commitment a bit creepy which narrowly bordered onto stalker-ash.

However Kaede wishing not to be rude patted the small girl on the head while giving a polite smile although it was really awkward. "That's good" she said as her face twitched to try and maintain the smile.

Kanae face immediately lit up as she gave her idol a bear hug to which the pink haired diclonius had to admit she was having much trouble breathing.

Nyu who was attached to Kohta's arm gave a light laugh along with her male friend as Kaede had to struggle to get free to which she even felt the need of her vectors to do so.

"Kohta!" called Yuka as she came running and waving onto the station with her parents following closely behind.

"Yuka" waved back Kohta as Yuka began to close the distance between them. As soon as Kanae released her hold the two girls also rejoined the group as they all exchanged pleasantries with each other.

"This will be our first summer day together. So where does everyone want to go?" said Kohta

But this was a tough question, for there were so many attractions to been seen in this sub-tropical paradise. The sights ranged from children entertainment to multicultural districts. However Kaede had a particular place in mind that she wanted to visit with Kohta as well as for other personal reasons.

"Let's go to Chinatown" suggested Kaede with excitement in her voice

"Chinatown?" everyone asked

"Yeah, there is a Chinatown in the area. We should go there" replied Kaede

"Hold on! You all first need to get your stuff packed away before you go anywhere" said Kohta's father

The young diclonius gave a sweat drop due to her overexcitement. "Sorry" she stuttered, Kaede then turned to face the group "we'll meet at the park we visited last summer, OK" to which everyone agreed upon. She and Nyu then returned to their mother to pick up their bags. The three families then left to their residents to drop off their stuff before meeting back at their rendezvous point. Now as the twin diclonius along with their mother and dog arrived at the park they found Kohta and his group waiting there already although Yuka's parents weren't there so most likely she was in Kohta's fathers care.

"Alright, let's go" said Kaede as she began to lead the group off.

"Hold it" said Kohta's father, "You kids should know better that you can't go anywhere is this area without adult supervision. So it would be best that either Mrs. Hikaru or I accompany".

"I think they'll be alright" immediately waved Mikomi. "These children are already pre-teen adults. So it would be good for them to spread their wings and experience things on their own"

"That's just reckless" retorted the elderly man. "We're their parents and we should be watching over them". But after finishing that statement Kohta's father suddenly felt a cold chill go up his spine. In his eyes he could swear he saw a black demonic aura flare from the adult women as she fully turned to face him with a sickingly sweet smile.

"I think it would be best for them to be on their own, don't you think?" she asked in a tone just as ominous as her aura.

Kohta's father gulped and nodded his head not sure if he could speak after the intense fear he had just felt.

"Good! Then off we go then" as she then started to push the middle aged man away. But before she got too far she turned her head to give her daughter a wink to which Kaede returned with a sunny smile.

"Come on lets go" said the young diclonius as she began to lead the group away.

The group then hopped onto a bus to which Kaede paid for courtesy of Mikomi generous allowances. Now after a long bus ride they arrived at the spectacular eastern gate of Chinatown. The first stop she wanted to go to was the temple where many tourists seem to visit.

After a while the group was dropped off near the sacred structure as they then preceded to head towards the temple. But before they could go up a nun stood at the entrance of the stairway. As they approached the holy woman, she decided to speak.

"Welcome travelers, up this path will lead you to the temple. But before you go you should know that the path here is known as the pathway to heaven. For in legend, those who go up it together will be bonded forever for the rest of their time here on Earth" she said.

"_Bonded forever . . . ._ " thought Kaede as she then grabbed Kohta's hand and proceeded to run up the stairs. But before the two could get far Yuka had grabbed the boy's other hand while running up too.

"A race!" said Kanae

"I wanna play too" then cheered Nyu as the two girls then started to run up the steps.

Meanwhile the nun could only stare as a comedic sweat drop formed on her head. "If that many people go at the same time then the relationship is going to be quite complicated".

Kaede and Yuka were running side by side against each other while the boy of their affections was being painfully dragged up the stairs. The two other girls simply ran past them in which they were in competition to each other on who would reach the top first.

"_I'll reach the top first_" thought Kaede as she began to pick up speed

"_I definitely won't lose_" thought Yuka as she tried to match her pink haired rival. The matter of the fact was she still didn't completely trust Kaede and even more so was kind of scared to be in the same room alone with her considering her powers. However, when it came to Kohta's attention that was something she wanted to monopolize to herself.

At the final step it ended up as a tie as the two girls had to bend over to catch their breath. Kanae who had reached the top first was jumping up and down with excitement with coming in first while Nyu was simply happy to finish.

"Drat" said Kaede as she couldn't beat Kohta's cousin.

Kanae after finally calming down looked to the two girls and saw the crumpled mess on the ground. "What happened to oniisan?" while pointing to the dazed figure on the ground.

Shocked expressions hit both the girls faces as they saw Kohta completely out of it and probably traumatized from the event.

"Kohta!" they both shouted as Kaede kneeled down to remedy the situation.

"Ahh Kohta please be alright" desperately said Kaede as she began to shake him back and forth.

Yuka then forcefully grabbed Kohta and started the shake him as well. "Kohta we're sorry, please come back to us".

All the while the poor boy started to feel nauseous as he seemed to be foaming from the mouth due to the excessive shaking. Both Kaede and Yuka had another shocked expression as they began to shake Kohta harder wanting him to be OK. Meanwhile both Nyu and Kanae looked on curiously about what the heck they were doing.

After a while later, some monks had to calm the girls down as Kohta was eventually revived. Now after a mountain of apologies and reassurances the group was once again on their way as they made their prayers at the temple before leaving.

Now as they went to the bus stop a growling noise could be heard.

Kanae held her stomach as she started to pull at her big brothers shirt. "Oniisan, when is lunch? I'm hungry".

"Well I guess we can go out to lunch now" smiled Kohta.

In that moment if no one was paying attention, a secret smirk could be seen on a certain dicloniuses face.

After a bus ride back to the shopping district and choosing a good restaurant in the area the group of pre-teens plus a child settled down for a classy traditional looking Chinese restaurant. Now this was the primary reason to why Kaede had wanted to come in the first place. After reading a few brochures back home she knew she definitely wanted to try some authentic Chinese cuisine. For the chance to eat a quality style full course dim sum dinner was just far too appealing to pass up while in Yokohama's Chinatown. After ordering and receiving their dishes, each member of the table felt like they were eating the very meaning of delicious with every bite.

But Kaede then got an interesting idea. "Kohta, say ahh" as she picked up a piece of sweet and sour pork for him to eat.

Yuka taking note of this made her own counter attack. "Kohta" to which she tried to feed him a shrimp dumpling

The pink head mechanically twitched her head towards Yuka. "What are you doing?"

"What do you think you're doing?" she retorted.

"Say ahh"

"Ahhhh ooommpp"

The two girls looked back only to have a dumbfounded look plastered on their face. Nyu was picking up morsel after morsel as Kohta accepted it piece by piece. At this site one could swear that those two were blissfully in their own world as it seemed they didn't notice the quarrel about to occur.

Now at the conclusion of the meal the group then decided to wander around the town for a while to just take a look around. The young diclonius definitely wanted to take advantage of this so she decided to take Kohta's hand as they walked. The young boy was a bit surprised at the sudden interaction but simply smiled and settled into it. Yuka not missing her queue went for the other hand.

However this instantly excited another confrontation between the two. "I'm pretty sure Kohta is fine holding hands with me" said Kaede.

"Well I think you are troubling Kohta" said Yuka.

"No I'm not" retorted Kaede

"Yes you are" exclaimed Yuka.

"Nu ah".

"Yeah hu".

"Nu ah" retorted Kaede with more aggression.

"Yeah hu" Yuka retorted back.

"Nu ah!" shot Kaede.

"Yeah hu!" shot back Yuka.

"Hey Kohta! Look at that" said Nyu pointing at a piece of architecture of some interest.

The two rivals then became surprised at how Kohta hands were ninja away by both Nyu and Kanae. For some time during their argument the two managed to snake their way in and take Kohta from them without either of them noticing. So at this point it they both agreed to admit defeat and follow quietly behind before the day became spoiled.

* * *

At the closing of their first summer day together the group decided to visit the playground within Chinatown. Nyu and Kanae played on the swings while Kohta and Yuka ran around the slides. Kaede however decided to sit this out as she sat on a bench nearby.

As she sat there she started to feel a bit depressed about today's event. Not only was she not able to connect with Kohta, but she also felt like she was being a nuisance to him. Furthermore her sister was spending far more time with him then she was. Now if Kaede were to say she wasn't jealous of Nyu she'd be lying. But at the same time she felt happy for her. '_I guess this is what they call a sisterly bond_' the diclonius thought.

But before she could think any further her thoughts were disturbed with something being placed on her head. As she tilted her head forward the said object down onto her lap.

"That's a fortune cookie" said Kohta taking a seat next to her to catch a breather from all the playing.

"Why aren't you playing with everyone else?" Kaede asked.

Kohta turned towards her with a smile. "Because you seemed lonely and I wanted to cheer you up".

The pink haired girl gave a slight blush at this comment as she looked down at her feet. "Thank you" she answered with a hint of embarrassment.

After a moment of time had passed the tanned youth decided to break the silence. "So why are you feeling sad?"

Kaede flinched at the question but did her best to cover this fact. "I . . . . Have I been bothering you Kohta?"

Kohta chuckled at this, "of course not, why would you think that?"

The pink diclonius continued to look at her feet not daring to look at her male companions face. "I just feel like I've been a pest to you all day and been causing nothing but trouble".

Kohta thought about this for a moment. "Hmm, I guess it was kind of troubling for some parts of the day" he said honestly. Kaede cringed at that statement however Kohta had more to say. "But it was still a good day in which we got to see a lot of cool things and eat great stuff" he smiled.

The pink youth immediately felt better at hearing those words to which Kohta hopped off the bench while turning to face his diclonius friend. "So smile Kaede-san, you look better with it"

Kaede then lifted her head showing a cute little blush as she smiled for the boy. Kohta smiled back while extending his hand for her to take. "Come on, I'll push you on the swing" he offered.

However she shook her head, but not in disapproval. "I'll be right there. Just go to everyone else first".

"OK" he replied before running off to play with Yuka, Kanae, and Nyu as they were in the middle of a game of tag.

Kaede watched as the four people closest to her ran around playing and laughing. She then looked down to the fortune cookie and decided to snack on it before joining everyone else. As she began to devour her treat she found a small note inside. On this parchment she found something rather insightful written on it which made her a bit more glad about today.

"Happiness is like a butterfly: the more you chase it, the more it will elude you, but if you turn your attention to other things, it will come and sit softly on your shoulder" said the pink haired youth as she quietly read her fortune to herself.

She then felt a bit less burdened with that in mind. Just as the fortune had stated don't try to force things in life and simply go with the flow and you'll find yourself a lot happier with things. Kaede then got up to join the rest of her friends as they continued to run around the park without a care in the world.

* * *

The rest of the summer went on pleasantly as the group enjoyed their time together. Now nearing the final days in Yokohama the group decided to participate in a community wide test of courage game with other kids. The game itself was going to take place at the elementary school Yuka went too.

But before the test of courage could be begin a few things needed to be decided

"Alright, before the game begins we need a few participants to be the ghouls since were short a few people" said the teacher/administrator/host of the game/school. "Since I know no one is willing to play the role we'll decide this with a straw draw".

At this mention everyone groaned as they didn't like the idea. However Kaede then had a mischievous smile at the entertaining thought she had. She raised her hand to grab the host's attention.

"My friends and I will volunteer for the position" said Kaede.

"Kaede-san, what are you doing?" asked Yuka.

The diclonius just winked her eye, "Trust me".

"Alright, you have ten minutes to get into position. So get a go on now" said the host and with that the group of adolescents ran off to the main school building to prepare for the job they enlisted for.

"Oneesan?" said Nyu questionably.

"Don't worry, I have an interesting idea to how we can have a lot of fun out of this" said Kaede as she then began to whisper her plan to them. After finishing her insidious plot the group began to snicker at how much fun this was going to be.

"But will this be alright?" asked Yuka with much concern.

"It'll be fine" smiled Kaede.

"This is so lame" said a fifteen year old kid as he escorted his female companion down the hall. Just moments ago a few kids had popped out of a hallway to scare them which failed to even make them flinch.

"This is so boring, why are people ahead of us having so much trouble getting through?" said the girl.

The pair then began to continue to walk when suddenly the two heard something move behind them. The pair then looked back to see a trash can that wasn't there before. However they swept this off as they started to move, but then heard the sound again. The duo looked back to see the garbage can move closer to them.

"That's kind of creepy" said the girl .

"What are you talking about? There's probably just some kid in there moving the bin" to which the teen then pushed the lid open to see nothing inside it. "OK what's going on?" as he now was beginning to feel a bit scared.

At that moment something passed by the window when the two weren't watching. "What was that?" asked the girl.

"It's just a well done prank. Yeah that's it, it's just a really good prank" said the boy as he attempted to find a reasonable explanation for what was happening.

But then before their eyes the pair saw a girl with brown hair covered in blood that seemed to be crawling all over the outside window. The girl then slowly turned her head towards them and started to display a sinister smile.

The teen girl then started to scream as she began to run down the hallway. "Hey! Wait up!" shouted the boy. However the scare wasn't over yet as they soon came about a boy and his pink haired companion sitting at a table giving a creepy smile to each other. They then turned their heads towards the two still maintaining the smile.

"Oniisan, Oneesan, won't you play with us?" they both said in unison as their surroundings then began to float and swirl around them.

"AHHHHH" screamed the two as they started to race in another direction. But coincidently they were still on track for the final course where the finish line was and also where the final trap was set.

The pair almost ripped the door off its hinges as they went inside to catch a breather, but as they turned around they saw the sign in book they needed to sign in order to finish the game.

"Let's finish this already. This is starting to get really creepy" complained the girl.

"Well there's the book. As soon as we sign it we'll be home free" said the boy trying to look tough.

But that facade soon ended as the last scare of the tour made itself known. A little girl with a big red ribbon in her hair covered in blood holding a knife walked out of the dark corner of the room and into the moonlit area.

The pair immediately clung to each as they were now scared beyond words to even run at this point.

"Won't you come and play with me now?" said the girl as she then started to float. In that instant she did a lunging motion to which the pair screamed their heads off as the boy promptly followed by the girl ran with all their might out of the school swearing from this day forward that the school was truly haunted.

After they were clearly gone the said ghoul started to giggle before breaking down into an all out laugh to which the rest of the apparitions soon joined her as they entered the room.

"See? Didn't I tell you this would be fun" chuckled Kaede.

"That was so funny" said Kohta remembering the expressions the pair had after seeing him

"It was kind of scary being outside the window like that. But it was very amusing" said Yuka as she placed her hand over her heart.

"That was awesome" exclaimed Nyu.

Kanae who had just rubbed the remaining fake blood off her face still couldn't stop laughing at how good the prank was. This train of events still continued on for the rest of the night with everyone switching positions from being the wall crawler, the playful two, and the child in the corner. In the end no one managed to sign their names onto the book as most were immediately scared away from the first trick. As the group of five came out of the building they laughed with each other at certain moments they liked with some of the participants they scared. Even the host was curious to how they were so successful to which they only responded with chuckles leaving the administrator dumfounded at how a bunch of kids could scare everyone so badly.

* * *

The final day came as the group finished their visit at the festival which became a kind of tradition for them. Yuka after the test of courage felt a bit better about Kaede's unique abilities, but that still didn't change her monopoly over Kohta's attention. Nyu and Kanae just went from booth to booth playing any game they found entertaining with Kanae practically outshining everyone thanks to the fruits of her training. Meanwhile Kaede was enjoying the festival in its entirety with fun stuff to do, things to eat, and people to share it with.

But as the night began to become late the three families had to depart from one another once again until next year.

"We're going to be in middle school next year. So let's not let it change us OK. We'll still be the same when we come back together next year, promise?" said Kohta.

Kaede, Nyu, and Yuka nodded their heads to this with Kanae feeling a bit left out as she wasn't able to participate in this promise. But after a few hugs and good-bye the three families departed from each other as they left back to resume their former lives.

"_Middle school, I wonder what that will be like?_" thought Kaede as the train took her and her family back to Kamakura to begin the next chapter in their lives.

To be continued . . . .

* * *

Author's notes: There is an actual Chinatown in Yokohama not to mention it's the biggest one in the world. Now as for the stair case scene that was completely fictional. Also if you read the manga, Lucy/Kaede/Nyu during her pre-teen years had gotten a bit cleverer on how to kill people by sticking her vectors into people's hearts forcefully causing a cardiac arrest or into their heads to cause aneurisms making it seem like natural death. Now on another note if anyone reads this section I'm curious what people think of the character Mikomi.

So I thank you for your time in reading this fic and further extend my gratitude if you can review it as well.


	12. Development

Chapter 12: Development

Synopsis: The more things change the more they stay the same. Such an idea has been common in human society to which feelings will always be the same, but can be guided due to circumstances of the world thus changing them.

Now such an event can involve human growth, especially for a young girl. But how exactly this growth will affect the young going into teen hood varies amongst the individual. So how will this affect the twin diclonius exactly?

**I would also like to apologize a head of time if this chapter might offend any readers**

Reminder: I do not own Elfen Lied or any characters associated with it

"talking"

_thoughts_

_

* * *

_

Kaede began to walk down the hall as her hair swayed back and forth from each step. Over the summer she decided to allow her hair to grow down which now had just reached her shoulders. She stopped momentarily to look out the window as she reflected on the past few weeks.

A lot of things were definitely different from how elementary schools use to be. For starters, junior high was broken up into a six series of different classes which focused on multiple fields of education. At first it was a bit overwhelming, but eventually they settled into the immense work load with time. The next obvious difference was the cloths policy the school enforced.

So at the beginning of the year their mother bought them the uniforms they needed in order to attend. However the young diclonius thought they were rather troublesome. As she was thinking this over, the point of her agony made itself known.

"Kaede-san, would you like to share a lunch with me" said a brunette haired girl

"Or me" then said a short black haired girl

"Or how about me?" said a long brunette haired girl.

Kaede placed her hand to her head as she began to sigh. The cloths that her mother bought were a standard female uniform which consisted of a navy blue skirt, short tie with a line pattern, and a white dress shirt. Now at the beginning weeks of school Kaede didn't like the stares she and her sister were receiving from the male student populace. After much experience Kaede could sense that to those boys she and Nyu were only red meat to be devoured by them. During the transition time to teen years, both diclonius sisters had begun to grow a bit more curve to their form which made them stand out more than they really wanted. So the following day Kaede decided to put a more masculine look to her appearance by wearing pants, a vest, and her favorite beanie along with her standard female dress shirt and tie. Of course she suggested to Nyu to change as well. But Nyu being Nyu simply passed the boys off as just being overly friendly. Her mother wasn't exactly too pleased about the change as she tried to convince her daughter doing such a thing wouldn't help at all. But after much debate Mikomi decided to leave her be.

However her change in style did work but it also backfired. Initially it did ward off the hormonal boys who weren't able to keep it in their pants, but she ended up gaining a different kind of attention afterwards. The fact was some guys enjoyed the challenge of trying to flirt with her while some girls started to become attracted to her new masculine persona. Considering her former elementary school reputation it became a bit of a nuisance how popular she was getting.

"It's OK, I won't be able to" said Kaede politely as she waved her hands. "I need to go see how my sister is doing. Do you know where she is?"

The three girl's eyes began to twinkle as they began guiding their idol to the classroom where her sister was. A moment later they arrived at her homeroom and inside Nyu can be seen playing cards with a bunch of other teens.

"Yay! I won again" cheered Nyu as she pumped her fists into the air

"You must have the devil's luck" said the boy across from her

"Well she might just be one considering the horns" said another boy dully

"Hey! That isn't very nice to say! You know Nyu-san is very sensitive about that" said Suki who was sitting next to Nyu. Upon example the ditzy dicloniuses eyes began to tear up in a comedic fashion. Instantly all the students in the room glared daggers at the two males.

The teen boys then began to sweat drop at this act. "ehhh . . . Sorry" they both said in unison as their heads dropped in defeat. Nyu demeanor instantly cheered up as she gave one of her sunny smiles. "That's OK, I know you didn't mean it". Momentarily everyone gave a soft laugh to this.

Kaede smiled too because not too long ago she would always have to step in whenever a few stray punks picked on her. But now people who were once strangers then stood up for her when previously they would not.

"That was pretty cool what you did there Nyu-chan. Why don't you and me go somewhere and get to know each other much better?" said a rather charming boy

Kaede sighed, "_But then some things never change_"

"I'm sorry Kano-san. I'm very busy so I can't go anywhere at the moment" said Nyu while displaying a cute frowning face.

"Ahh don't be like that. It'll only be for a few minutes" he said while shrugging his arms and shoulder in a casual manner

"Nyu-san already refused" shyly said a girl at the table. "So I think you should leave her alone now"

"What does it matter to you Hana? This is only between me and Nyu-chan here. So you can buzz off now" he retorted. Soon everyone began to protest towards the boy wanting to steal Nyu away. But Kano wanting to display his claim then grabbed a hold of the girl's arm. "This won't take too long I promise"

Nyu cringed at the sudden hold since the ignorant boy was grabbing her too tightly. Hana immediately noticed this fact.

"I think you should let go of her now. She doesn't like it" she said

The boy scoffed at this. "Oh? And who is going to make me" and immediately Kano felt the cold fear of death creep up his spine as he felt his other arm twist behind him.

"Care to say that again" said Kaede as a comedic shadow covered her eyes

"Ahh! Kaede-chan!" Kano said in surprise. "You can have your turn afterwards. So you can wait a little bit, right?" But Kaede twisted his arm a little more which earned a yelp from the overloaded testosterone individual.

"Or not! Can you please let go now?!" to which Kaede released and turned the boy around only to shove him into the wall. "Let's make one thing clear. You don't touch my sister and you won't lose an extra appendage" as she pointed down, "got it?!" Kano immediately nodded his head in fear. "Good" smiled Kaede in a sickening sweet way.

The charmer was then released as he ran out the door not wanting to further deal with the crazy of the twins. At that bit of drama everyone in the room began to pat and praise her. Kaede then turned to her sister with a troubled look on her face. But Nyu looked back with a puppy dog expression.

"If you keep leaving yourself open like that you're just going to keep inviting them in hoards you know" said Kaede

Nyu simply gave her a sunny smile. "Don't worry oneesan, everything always works out in the end"

"_Yeah in which I have to always bail you out_ _every time_" thought Kaede as she sighed again

After lunch, classes went on as they usually did with long lectures, problems to solve, and homework to do. Soon the day came to an end as the twins began to walk home.

"Nyu, can't you just have one day where you stay out of trouble" said Kaede

"That'll be the day you become feminine again" smiled Nyu

"_Like that'll happen anytime soon_" she thought. However as they say tomorrow can always bring about a surprise when least expected.

* * *

Mikomi got up early that morning to prepare her daughters breakfast for the coming school day. Now during her preparation the elderly woman heard the stumble of footsteps wonder into the dining room. As she turned around to set the food down she saw both her children sitting in their seats. However something seemed . . . . different about them.

"How was your rest?" asked Mikomi as she took a seat to eat breakfast

Nyu looked at her mother a bit angrily. "It's fine!"

Mikomi flinched at the sudden outburst. "Are really OK Nyu-chan?"

"Hmph!" was the all the reply she got as Nyu started digging in

The mother of two then looked to her other daughter. "Do you know what's wrong with Nyu-chan?" But just like before she received another uncharacteristic answer.

"No" answered Kaede in a passive tone as she continued to look down and stir around her food

Mikomi was now curious to why they were acting like this. The fact was they couldn't be sick as it wasn't flu season yet. Nothing big is happening so they shouldn't be this high strung. Just yesterday they both seemed rather fine with how things were going in school.

Now as the twins finished up their morning meal and began leaving for school that day Mikomi took the initiative to scan the both of them with empathy to see what was wrong with them. After a quick look over, the elder women gave a slight smirk to this. "_Ahh, so that's what's going on_"

* * *

"It's about time you two came. What took you so long?" called Suki from the front gate

At this time both Nyu and Kaede had just arrived at school, but before they could cross the gate Nyu's fan club decided to ambush them. Like every morning since they started junior high, a pack of boys would always ask or want something from the ditzy diclonius such as . . . .

"Nyu-san! Please accept this token of my affections"

"Can I have a picture with you!"

"Please go out with me!"

But at arriving to this welcoming committee Nyu's eyes remained shadowed under her bangs as she walked right by them without a word. The Nyu welcoming committee was left in shock since their Nyu-chan would always at least stop to say hi or least politely refuse. At this moment a few of them began to cry to how cold she was acting to them. A few of them even thought that Nyu had finally gotten sick of them and decided to ignore them altogether.

"I'm sorry for that. She isn't feeling well at the moment. Please excuse her" said Kaede as she folded her hands in front of her and gave a slight bow. After the apology on Nyu's behalf, Kaede ran to catch up with her sister.

At that new spectacle some of the boys swore that couldn't have been really her. Kaede would always the one to force them away when Nyu was unwilling too. Furthermore that bodyguard sister would even resort to brute force to make them go away. At the sight before them a few blushed as they never imagined that Kaede could be so cute in the way she acted now. But some of the others were simply in shock since her personality was not the type to ever apologize to anyone.

Suki who was still watching from the side was dumbfounded at the event. "What's wrong with them?"

* * *

The day went on as it usually did with long boring lectures, problems to do, and homework to take. But unusually enough, the twin dicloniuses were not acting as they would on a normal day. Now both Kaede and Nyu were top notch students in which they were bright and prone to quick studies. On a normal day, Nyu would always try and solve any problem while her sister would silently look out the window. However, the roles today had been reversed to which now Kaede is the active one to her usual routine with the later sister being completely passive.

Suki leaned in towards her friend. "What do you think is wrong with them?" she whispered

Hana waiting for the teacher to turn away then responded back. "I'm not sure, but it seems to be the talk of the school to what has brought on this change"

"Well those two are practically school celebrities. So who wouldn't be talking about them" whispered Suki

"Ms. Suki! Pay attention!" barked the teacher

"Yes sensei!" she responded while shooting straight up from her desk to which the rest of the class laughed at that antic

* * *

Even though some things did change there were others that stayed the same. Nyu still stayed in the homeroom class with her friends playing and eating while Kaede tried to avoid the girls and guys who requested the pleasure of her company. But things were going to be a little different.

"I'm going to go out for a while" said Nyu as she slowly stood up and began to wonder away. But at the moment she left talk began to fly about the sudden change of demeanor for the twin dicloniuses.

"Hey, do you think she finally snapped?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well I heard it sometimes happens when the cute suddenly turns to the ugly when poked too much"

"Do you think it's our fault?!"

"Probably, we have been leaching on Nyu-chan a lot"

"Then what do you think it up with Kaede-san?"

"Who knows she is one hell of a mystery. But she suddenly became all girlie so I'd say it's an improvement"

"Dude, don't say that. If she hears you she'll definitely pulverize you into dust"

"Relax, just second period she apologized for knocking down someone's books"

"And?"

"She apologized! Kaede-san is infamous amongst the boys and girls for never making mistakes and never apologizing. She's practically O.C.D. on perfectionism!"

Now most of this talk was being passed around amongst the boys. However the majority of the girls had a better understanding to what may have caused this change as most of them had at least heard about it or gone through it.

"Do you think it's **"**that**"** Hana-san?" asked Suki who was in a group of female friends who were well acquainted to Nyu

Hana nodded to this. "It probably might be. Nyu-san is too nice to suddenly become angry like that." At that statement the group of girls nodded to this assessment

"Hey do you girls know something about this weird event?"

"What?" asked one of the girls

"Come and take a look at this" said the boy

With that the group began to follow him to another classroom. After a short while they arrived to the room where the group was met with a very strange sight as they viewed it from the window.

"Kaede-san that is so funny" said one of her followers

"Thank you" responded Kaede as she gave a light laugh to this.

At this point in time the pink diclonius was sitting down with her fan club eating lunch and exchanging pleasantries which each other. A few boys who wanted the enjoyment of her company were also in the group. But some of the Kaede worshippers argued with them to leave since they wanted to monopolize her time. Of course the boys argued back wanting the same thing. All the while the formerly butch girl just laughed and displayed a smile just a brilliant as Nyu's.

"It's weird right! Some of the guys to see if this was a prank tried asking her out. But all she did was politely refuse like how Nyu-san would do it. The normal Kaede-san would have just look at you if you were crazy and bluntly refuse. Don't you all think this is really strange?!" said the boy only to see that the group of girls were huddled together discussing the matter amongst themselves.

"Even Kaede-san is acting like that. So what else can it be?"

"I think you're right. But how long do you think this'll last?"

"I bet three days!"

"Tomorrow for me"

"I'd say six days max"

All the while the boy who had escorted the group was completely dumbfounded to what they were talking about. "_That? Days? Betting? What is going on here?!_"

* * *

The classes soon came to an end as students began to head home for the day. Nyu who was sitting on a bench in the quarry area waited patiently for her sister to arrive. But unbeknownst to her she was going to have some unwanted company that she really did not want to deal with.

Kaede's class soon ended as she and her fellow classmates exited the room. As she made her way out, the pink diclonius began humming Lilium happily as she strode down the hall. Spectators to this act were baffled to what could have gotten into her. Although Kaede was an overall nice person with good manners and the occasional soft smile, another thing that Kaede was infamous for was her sharpness. That girl would make it a point to always be in control of her emotions and the things that go on around her in which she was literally a no B.S. type person. Even some of the teachers were shocked to see their existed this side of her. However they understood the reason to why she was like that and would enjoy the time they had before she returned back to her usual self.

The young diclonius who was only but a little ways off from meeting up with Nyu stopped abruptly some ways off from the quarry. As she arrived she saw a familiar boy from the day before, and that said boy was talking with her sister the same way he did then.

"_It's Kano again_" she thought. Ever since elementary, that guy had an insatiable greed for wanting to be the center of attention. For his wish was to always be the big dog of his group by doing anything and everything to get it. Now that he was in junior high he had earned the reputation as the charmer since he would always be asking girls out in the hoards and attempting to make moves on them so that he could brag all about it to his friends.

Kaede knew that being near Kano would be a bad idea. Due to the popularity of herself and Nyu they were only viewed as trophies to Kano and some other guys to take. So this was one of the reasons to why Kaede had made it her duty to filter out who her sister befriended and was around during the course of her school life. Although she wanted to be out there right now to teach Kano a lesson her current physical condition wasn't making things too pleasant. However luckily Kano wasn't ever the brightest bulb of the bunch and he never really paid attention to warnings or news passed around the school. So he was going to be in a bit of a surprise if he attempted anything with Nyu is her current state.

"Now that the third wheel is out of the way you and I can get better acquainted" said Kano in the most charming way he could manage

However Nyu with her eyes being shadowed under her bangs continued to look down. "Don't talk about oneesan like that" she said in a half dull and threatening manner.

"Sorry Nyu-chan, if you want her to come along too I don't mind" he said. But in the back of his head he saw the perfect opportunity to get two birds with one stone. A part of him believed if he could get the both of them his reputation would sky rocket in school. Plus the fact that Nyu was one of the few people Kaede would actually listen too. Although there were a small handful of other students who managed to get in her good graces he was definitely not one of them. But now that his attention was back in the present time his latest target was no longer sitting on the bench as she was now walking away.

"I'm leaving now" said Nyu bluntly as she didn't bother to turn around and give her usual smile.

"Wait! Hold up. I'm not done talking with you yet!" stated Kano adamantly. But if he had any sense of perception he would have known that was a really bad idea. The next thing he did was grasp a hold of Nyu's arm to make sure she didn't leave. But the moment he did that he found himself on the ground with a bloody nose half-dazed not sure what had just happened.

Kaede smirked at the scene. Nyu's fist was still stretched out into the air as she had completely clocked Kano in the face. The diclonius had to applaud her sister as that was a beautifully executed punch. She then stopped her thought process in order to listen in on what Nyu was about to say.

"Don't you ever dare touch me again" threatened Nyu as she displayed a comedic evil face while cracking her knuckles. "I'm done with dealing with your type on an everyday basis" as she placed her foot on his sensitive boy part. "If you can't understand that much I'm going to make sure your body remembers it"

Kano immediately got his second wind as he moved away and started to run in terror. The one thought that came to mind as he ran for dear life was the fact "_who_ _knew that Nyu-chan could be scarier than her sister_."

"That was really neat" smiled Kaede as she was now standing next to her twin

Nyu simply just looked to her before looking away. "Thanks" was all she said

The twin dicloniuses then made their way home as they chatted about how their school day was. But as soon as they got home and entered into the living room they found their mother sitting with a cup of tea giving them an unusual smile.

"So how was school today?" she asked

"Fine" they both said in unison

Mikomi then got the heart of the matter to why she asked. "So how was your first period?"

A look of dread then came about the girls faces before they answered back. "Terrible" they said in unison before going to their rooms to lie down. All the while Mikomi gave a light chuckle to this. In the earlier months she attempted to educate them on the physical development of the female body. But her daughters were not as responsive as Kaede simply didn't want to hear it and Nyu was just being childish as her usual personality was like. But just for precaution the mother of two got together the necessary items needed in the event it happened within the coming year. As she predicted she was right on target. "_Victory favors the prepared_" she thought as she went to the kitchen to fetch some Ibuprofen to help with her daughters' pain. As she made her way towards their room another thought came to mind, "_We're going to need more stuff_"

* * *

The following day Nyu was praised by the female student populace for slaying the charmer as he was infamous for playing with girl's hearts and soon dumping them for someone else. But just like yesterday Nyu was still aloof while Kaede was still more engaging. For the twin sisters were still going though their transition cycle of that time of the month. However their personality change would only last for four more days until they both went back to their usual selves. But during this time the twin dicloniuses would create a new thing they were going to be infamous for. During this time Nyu would earn a title of being even scarier than her sister in all manners of confrontation whether it was a verbal or physical fight. But in Kaede's case, the once butch girl became unnaturally cute and girlie in the way she talked and acted with the people around her. This in result led to the formation of a Kaede **"**moe**"** club due to the appeal of her masculine appearance and new personality.

In the end of that five day period they ended up generating the title of **"**beauty and the beast**" **whenever that time of the month came

Now on the sixth day Nyu was back to her usual cheerful self with Kaede being the silent but watchful protector she always was. During this time most of the Nyu fan club had transitioned over to the Kaede fan club. But the boys now armed with the knowledge of this fearful **"**period**"** decided to fuse the two clubs together to form the Hikaru fan club which would make it easier to cheer for either of them on any given time.

At the start of class a few words were exchanged in curiosity about the current state of the sisters.

"Do you think things are going to be alright? They did cause quite a stir in the school" whispered Hana

"Don't worry, the only thing we need to watch out for is when beauty and the beast decide to come back" said Suki to which the two girls gave a giggle to this

"You two pay attention" barked the teacher and he threw a piece of chalk at both of them

"Yes sensei!" they said in unison while standing up to bow to which everyone laughed at their expense.

* * *

Authors' notes: This chapter was more focused on the perspectives of the people around the girls. So I do apologize if it wasn't written like how it usually is. Also I'd like to thank all my reviewers for telling me about some word errors as well as story devices that might have seemed off. In addition if anyone is curios, original characters from the anime/manga will definitely show up in the story. But like the original story they won't be introduced until the proper time they were suppose to meet the lead protagonist. So by chronological order in a few chapters she is going to have her first meeting with Aiko, Kurama, and Kakuzawa. But of course character meetings can change depending on where the sisters are and what are the circumstances at the moment.

Furthermore the usage of filler character might be needed in order to push the story along as repeatedly saying "this boy/girl" or "man/women" can get rather repetitive. So the currently new introduced characters can exist one moment and be gone the next. But I'll try to keep this as focused on the main protagonists and antagonists as much as possible.

So I thank you for your time in reading this fic and further extend my gratitude if you can review it as well.


	13. Activities

Chapter 13: Activities

Synopsis: One of the purposes of education is to attain a higher sense of culture about the world around them to which an individual can properly develop and express themselves before their surroundings. But then one must ask themselves how far are they willing to go to achieve such a heighten sense of perception. Although new and exotic experiences can be fun there must exist limits to which one is willing to take. This fact definitely holds true when you have a sibling who just enjoys life far more then you can handle.

Reminder: I do not own Elfen Lied or any characters associated with it

"talking"

_thoughts_

_

* * *

_

Kaede stood in the hallway looking through the window over the school grounds. During her time as a first year junior high student she found her current spot rather relaxing as most people would never come to this particular area. Furthermore this was one of the few places her fan club would never look for her. However it wasn't her fan club she was avoiding this time. No, instead it was a certain frightening pink haired girl who had been picking bits of her life-force away as time went on.

"Oneesan! There you are!" cried out Nyu

"Crap" said Kaede as she attempted to run away

But unfortunately she was a little too late to escape as she was captured by the collar and dragged away like a stray animal.

"You know I can't do this entire event by myself. Besides we made a promise to every club that we have to uphold" stated Nyu

While being dragged away a sour face came over Kaede at remembering the incident Nyu had unknowingly dragged her into.

* * *

~three hours ago~

"AHHH! Help me oneesan!" screamed Nyu as she ran away from hoards of recruiters from various sports and culture clubs.

"Don't bring them towards me!" replied Kaede as she too began to run at her sister's side.

During this time of the year it was one of the biggest events to which many clubs from various sports and culture activities would attempt to recruit (or steal) potential members. But at this point in time everyone had their eyes on the Hikaru sisters. The matter of fact was they both weren't just academically and athletically great, but the thing was that if any club managed to bag them their popularity could easily attract more members towards their side. For obvious reasons the more members a club had then the more funding they can receive from the student committee. So at this point it was a race between all the clubs to see who could get the both of them first.

Finally after a good ten minutes of running the twins managed to lose the recruiters as they hid themselves on the roof. Kaede began to hyperventilate at the excessive running she had to do.

"Why can't these people ever take no for an answer" she scowled as she laid herself down on the ground

Nyu who was hunched over soon straighten herself out as she then approached her twin. "Oneesan, I think I have an idea to how we can get out of this predicament"

Kaede's ears immediately perked up at the statement. "What's that?" she asked as her breathing began to calm while she folded her hands underneath her head.

"Hey! There they are!"

The girls spotted the hoard of people as they immediately got up to run again to wherever they could.

"This is going to be very risky, but I think we can do it" smiled Nyu during her sprint

"Well what's the plan?" Kaede asked again. However her ditzy sister just continued to smile while racing beside her.

"You'll see" said Nyu

* * *

~one hour later~

"I like to thank you all for coming here today for your interest in recruiting us. But unfortunately we can't join any clubs at the moment. So oneesan and I have to respectfully decline" said Nyu in the cutest face she could manage. But before she could finish many recruiters began to voice their disapproval.

"You can't say that! You haven't even given us a chance yet!"

"Please reconsider!"

"We'll give you whatever you want! Please join our club!"

"I promise you'll have fun in our club!"

"No! Nyu-chan!"

Nyu then gave an awkward laugh to the situation. But soon after as the recruiters quieted down she continued with her idea. "But since we can't be in all your clubs at the same time and none of you are willing to give up on us I propose a bet" Immediately everyone quieted down as they nodded their head in recognition for her to continue.

"Well" said Nyu as she placed her finger to her lips before shooting it out while displaying her sunny smile, "If oneesan and I beat all your clubs in one go then you can't try and recruit us again. But if you win then I'll join your group" she then looked and pointed to her sister "Oh and oneesan will join too"

A moment of dead silence later all the recruiters began to openly cheer as all they had to do was defeat them in order to recruit them. However at this same moment Kaede looked to her sister as if she had lost her mind.

"Are you crazy?" she exclaimed. "Do you have any idea how many clubs there are?"

Nyu just looked back with a smile. "Don't worry; all we have to do is win right?"

Kaede looked down as her body sagged in defeat. She soon then corrected herself as she rolled up her sleeves. "Alright, let's get this over with"

Meanwhile the recruiters argued amongst themselves to who would get first dibs. But after a few minutes of arguing the order was decided to whom would challenge them as they went. Now after deciding the order the rest of the recruiters went to the tennis court along with the Hikaru sisters and their challengers. After some prep work, the match was about to begin.

"Hey! Did you hear? The Hikaru sisters are going to challenge every club on campus"

"No way! They can't possibly win"

"Come on let's go see"

"Hey wait up"

This special event became the buzz of the school as almost every student who had heard of it attended to see how it would go. Now some were extremely skeptical to believe that the twin dicloniuses could actually beat every sport and culture club in school. But most were simply there just to see the spectacle of how those two were planning to come out on top.

Kaede looked over to her sister, "Nyu why are you wearing that?"

Nyu at that moment made a slight pose. "It's cute right? I was asked by the tennis team to wear it during this match. I think the uniform looks really good" she smiled

Kaede's head then twitched towards the audience as some of the male student body tried to get a peak under her sister's skirt. She then began to sigh, "_This is getting ridiculous_"

"You do realize what they are trying to do" she said as she pointed to the group

However Nyu just waved them off while still maintaining her usual decorum. "It's OK, besides I can just hide like this" said Nyu as she placed the racket in front of her face

"Like this?" exclaimed Kaede as she did the same action to prove how futile it was.

Soon enough the match began as the ball was being passed back and forth between the two opposing sides. Of course the Hikaru sisters were faring much better due to their advantage mostly due to Kaede's "special talents"

"_It's can't possibly be cheating if I'm using everything I have_" she thought as she served the ball back with incredible speed shooting it to the edge of the court and out of the ring earning their side the win.

The tennis team representatives dropped to the ground in defeat as they saw their opponent cheer in victory.

"How can they be so good? Aren't they beginners?"

"Well Kaede-san isn't known as the strongest girl in school for nothing"

Now after their match it entered an intermission period to which the next challenger needed time to set up the next event. So during this time Nyu went off with some of her friends while Kaede went off somewhere to relax.

* * *

~present time~

"What do you think oneesan?" asked Nyu as she twirled around to show off the female volley ball uniform

"Why are you wearing that? Wasn't your regular uniform good enough for this event?" said Kaede

"But I wanted to try all of the sport uniforms" smiled Nyu

Kaede then looked to her sister with scrutiny as her eyes narrowed and her shoulders began to sag. "Was this the point to your bet?" she said darkly

Nyu's eyes then looked to the side obviously showing her guilt. "N . . . No"

Now as the match began the ball was passed back and forth with much vigor between the teams as both sides had much to gain and lose from this. However the best strategy the Hikaru sisters used was for Nyu to set the ball as Kaede spiked it each time. Even though they haven't had much practice at the sport the strategy was flawless as even their experienced opponents couldn't stand up to the incredible spikes made by Kaede. After game match the Hikaru sisters cheered once again at their victory as the volley ball team slumped down in depression.

"How could we lose to them? They were only beginners!"

The other player shrugged as he didn't understand how a petite girl could pack so much power. "But you have to admit it was worth seeing Nyu-chan in uniform and Kaede-san elegance during the match" the guy said optimistically as both of them began to visualize the twin sisters in uniform doing cute stuff.

As the day went on the sport clubs kept on coming such as Judo, archery, basketball, soccer, and etc. But it was just as Kaede feared. This was a battle of attrition to which her stamina was not going to hold. The repeated usage of her vectors had put a heavy fatigue on her mind which systematically affected her body forcing it to its limit sooner than it should have. But luckily she had managed to barely defeat the entire schools sport division

"_Damn!_" she thought, "_I can't go on any further_" Kaede then looked up to see the next wave come in as the culture club then wanted their share.

"Fu fu fu, those muscle heads honestly thought they could beat you with such lame brain tactics. However they served their purpose well enough as they softened you up before we got our chance" said the lead in the group

"Oneesan isn't alone in this!"

The group turned to see the other sister pointing at them with a certain level of conviction. "Now it's my turn to do something!" said Nyu

The setup was almost instantaneous as a table was placed in the middle of the gym with a chess board on it. Now after Nyu and her challenger took their seats the pair was then surrounded by all sides as people littered every inch of the structure from sitting on the bleachers to standing around the players. But even more interesting then that was how extreme the game gotten as cameras and televisions were set up so that people who couldn't see the match could watch at how the game progressed.

Nyu nervously chuckled a bit at how far the culture club had decided to take this friendly little game. But her attention was immediately drawn back as her challenger asked her to make the first move. Now during the course of this game much talking took place to what people thought of the situation thus far. But for the most part the conversations went more or less along the path at how doomed the Hikaru sisters were.

"Ah this isn't fair. If they win then Nyu-chan and Kaede-san will have to join the chess club"

"What makes you say that?"

"Do you know who she is up against? The challenger is a top rated chess champion and has never lost a match before in their career. I've even heard that they played on the international level and won. So how can Nyu-chan beat odds like that"

"I don't know she might be able to pull out a win"

"What makes you say that?"

"You'll see"

Nyu placed her finger to her lips as she thought about what move she should make. The truth of the matter was that she had never really played chess before and was only vaguely aware how to move the pieces. Her opponent of course was aware of this fact and indeed planned on exploiting this weakness. Even in knowing this prudent piece of information the chess club wanted to guarantee their win by sending the best player they had.

"I'll move here" said Nyu as she ascended one of her ponds forward

"Good move" said her challenger is a sarcastic manner as they made their move. "_Like taking candy from a baby_" or at least that is what they thought as Nyu's pieces slowly but surely began to whittle away the opposition leaving very little to protect the king.

"_How can this be possible? I was ranked as the international champion! How can I be losing to such a small fry?_"

Nyu smiled as she moved her bishop into place. "I think this is what they call check mate"

Her opponent was in complete disbelief at their loss. "How? You don't even know how to play chess. There was just no way you could have beaten me"

Nyu then rubbed the back on her head in embarrassment, "I was sort of playing blindly by placing pieces randomly on the board, weird huh"

Everyone stood in silence as they watched an impossible event just become possible. Even Kaede was speechless to even how her sister had managed to win with such lousy odds. Soon after, chants and cheers were heard in honor of the ditsy girl's victory over the chess prodigy to which her opponent slapped their head to the table in disbelief that they had just lost.

Now during this cheering people were still in awe at how Nyu had even managed to win

"Did you see that?"

"Yes I did"

"How could she possibly have won? There's just no way!"

"That's why I said she was going to pull out a win"

The person's eyebrow rose at that remark. "What do you mean by that?"

"Although she may not look it, Nyu-san has an incredibly high sense of intuition and can figure out most things just by looking at them. Aside from that do you know what she also known for?"

"You mean her insane level of luck?"

"Precisely", the person then scoffed. "Poor bastard, never had a chance at winning"

"Yeah"

Soon after the next match came which was preceded by another which was then preceded by another in which the ditsy diclonius pulled one stunning victory after another.

"Alright let's see who is next" said Nyu as she examined the list of culture clubs left to defeat. Her eyes then bulged as they came across a particular club she definitely wanted to try. "Oh! This one next" she said excitedly

Kaede peered over her sister's shoulder to see what had gotten her so bubbly. An immediate frown then came about her face as she pinched her nose at the irritation that was about to unfold. "Nyu that club hardly counts as a culture club so we have no reason to do it"

"But they have already given us what we needed in order to participate in the challenge" smiled Nyu as she handed her sister a peculiar looking bag.

The serious girl took a look inside only to show a very uncharacteristic blush. "Nyu, you better not be suggesting what I think you are suggesting"

"But it's all for fun" she smiled, "Plus it would look a lot better since they came in two sets" as she lifted another bag.

Kaede's face began to cringe a bit. "Sister dear, I swear to god, the devil, or whomever is listening that if you make me wear that I am never talking to you again"

Nyu immediately put on her puppy dog expression to which she knew her sister couldn't refuse. "Please oneesan" she said cutely

"I'm not going to do it" said Kaede adamantly

"But it'll look so cute on you" replied Nyu

"I said no Nyu" answered Kaede

"Please oneesan" begged Nyu

"No" answered Kaede as she turned around folding her arms

"Please" tried Nyu again as she messaged Kaede's shoulders trying to make her loosen up to the idea

She immediately shook her off. "No!"

Nyu then went to her final tactic which she knew would not fail. She then clasped her hands together and began her strategic attack, "Please"

"No"

"Please"

"No"

"Pwease"

"No"

"Pwwwease"

"No!"

"Pwwwwwwease" then said Nyu with a bit of a purr to it

Kaede's body then began to shake as she turned around pointing her finger at her sister's face. "I don't care even if my life depended on it! I am not wearing it and that's final!"

Three minutes of "please" later . . . .

"I'm going to kill you later" said Kaede as her face was red in both anger and embarrassment to what she was about to be subjected too. At the moment she was wearing a bath robe which covered the outfit from the many cameras and eyes looking at her.

Nyu then approached her is a similar state, "You shouldn't feel so embarrassed. I'm wearing it too"

Kaede's hand then began to rise in agitation. "Unlike you, I am not an exhibitionist for these kinds of things"

"Hey it's show time now" exclaimed Nyu as she grabbed her sister's robes

"Wait! I'm not ready yet!" However it was too late as hundreds of flash photography went off the moment the outfit was revealed. Kaede did what she could not to freak out. But the constant cheers and whistles were not helping the integrity of her mind.

Nyu on the other hand was simply smiling and waving to the crowd as they took their pictures while giving some rather flattering comments.

"_Oh, I can't believe this is happening_" thought Kaede

The club her sibling was so excited about challenging was the anime/manga club, and the event challenge was a cosplay showdown. For the game was to see who could get the most attention from the audience and maintain it the longest to which the winner would be decided by the student council.

As for the outfits they were provided, Kaede was given a black Lolita dress which was the kind you would only ever see an anime character or convention cosplayer wear while her sister wore the same thing but with an inverse color scheme. She then looked to her sister as she was still posing for the camera as was requested of her. Kaede then tuned into the cheers from the audience at how wonderful they looked.

"_Did they all forget the whole purpose of this event?_" she thought. However another thought came to mind as she looked down to her dress. "_And why does this dress fit unnaturally well?_"

Of course the Hikaru sisters won the competition in the end by a land slide to which ended the great club wars with the twin dicloniuses as the victor. From this day forward this event would become a school legend to which the story would be about a pair who had dared to challenge every club on campus to which in the end those two would emerge victorious amongst the impossible odds. Of course in time the legend would be watered down as it gets passed along each generation. But the one thing that will stand the test of time is how two girls of light overcame such an impossible task.

Due to the huge crowd this event gathered the teachers decided to make the activity an annual event to which only one pair may participate each year. If victorious the pair would then become immortalized within the school's history. But for now in the present, none of that really mattered as Kaede and Nyu were just happy to not have to join any clubs.

* * *

The next day, a lot of buzz was going around at the amazing show that had occurred. Although a certain diclonius should have been happy to have won she was still feeling sour about it all.

Kaede laid on the roof looking at the sky during the lunch hour. But immediately her hands clasped over her face as she began to roll back and forth on the ground. "Awww! I want those ten minutes of my life back!" she muffled. The evening before, Kaede decided to surf the internet to which to her surprise the entire club war event was on every major video website that she knew about. At first she didn't mind it as much as she got to watch the many videos and comments which stroked her vanity while viewing how good her sister did against the culture clubs. However the bomb shell came when she found the videos focused on the last event she participated in. In viewing those videos Kaede couldn't help but blush in embarrassment at how many people saw her in that outfit. Furthermore there were plenty of unflattering comments on the site which sent the willies up her spine.

Kaede shivered a bit at the thought of some of the comments. "I just hope some old pervert wasn't touching himself because of that"

"Oneesan! There you are? I brought something for us to eat!" said Nyu as she came busting through the roof door. But before she could ascend any further Nyu found herself lifted into the air by the back collar of her shirt the same way a puppy or a cat would be if they misbehaved.

"Oneesan?" Nyu then said curious to what was going on

Her twin then slowly got up and started to approach her with her bangs shadowing her eyes. But as soon as Kaede got close enough she then grabbed Nyu by the shoulder and started to shake her violently. "I want those ten minutes of my life back!" she demanded

Although Nyu was being tumbled back and forth she couldn't help but giggle at how silly her sister was behaving. With that statement alone she already understood what her twin was talking about. "You shouldn't feel so bad oneesan. A lot of people liked them"

"Do you even know how many perverts out there could be whacking themselves off right now because of it? What about my reputation or my pride!" exclaimed Kaede. "I liked it when people just saw me as butch, but now I'm getting all this unwanted love letters stuffed into my shoe locker, desk, and backpack when I'm not looking. To top that off the boys aren't the only ones doing it!"

"At least you're making a lot of friends" then said Nyu cutely

Kaede then sagged down in defeat. For the fact was there was just no way to talk sense to this girl.

"Oneesan?" said Nyu questionably

"Yes Nyu?" tiredly replied Kaede as she kept her gaze to ground while still slumped over

"What does "whacking themselves" mean?" asked Nyu

* * *

The day soon came to an end with much appreciation on Kaede's part. The poor diclonius girl could not take any more letters or gifts from people at school as their purpose to giving them were sketchy at best. However her sister was another case. For some reason, Nyu seemed to really enjoy the attention as she accepted a lot of the gifts which were mostly sweets and also made it a point to read every letter that she received. At times she wondered if Nyu was really that nice to try and read all of them or was just doing it out of pity. But to what she understood of her sister the reason was unlikely the later. But one thing she knew for a fact was that her twin sibling Nyu was a hardcore exhibitionist. Even though she would never admit it or probably didn't even realize it.

Now as the girls walked home for the day Nyu stopped reading her fan mail to look over to her sister with a curious expression. "Wgeru deg jow pua cho shtuf?"

"Nyu if you are going to talk take the lollipop out of your mouth before doing so" said Kaede tiredly

Following her sisters advice, Nyu restated her original question. "So where did you put your stuff?"

"In the bag" as she pointed towards her backpack

"That's nice of you oneesan. I thought you would have thrown them all away the moment you found them" smiled Nyu

But in truth that was exactly what Kaede had wanted to do. However a part of her seemed to glow with happiness when the people around her being friend or stranger accepted her. Even liking her for who she was although some of the time in an inappropriate fashion. But for the life of her she didn't quite understand the reason for the warmth every time she had ever received kind words or gifts of appreciation. Whenever she tried to discard them a tinge of sadness or guilt overcame her which forced her in the end to keep them. Of course at first Kaede concluded it had to be because of her lousy childhood to which was why she felt an obligation to keep them. But in time, that reasoning began to feel rather empty and vague. Deep down, Kaede felt it had to be something more than that as if it was something from a far off place or a distant memory to why such things gave her happiness. But whenever she tried to dig deeper into the subject a sudden blank would appear in her mind which would always bring her back to the thought of why she was thinking about it in the first place. But at this time it didn't seem so important as she buried that thought away while at this moment thought about where she was going to store her new pile of fan mail seeing as her once vacant closest space had now become occupied. She would at least attempt to eat the perishable or for the most part give it to Nyu so that they wouldn't go to waste.

"So are you excited oneesan?" exclaimed Nyu

"Yeah" said Kaede solemnly, for summer was drawing near and that meant meeting Kohta again. Each time she thought about it her heart began to race as a slight blush formed at the thought of even being close to him.

At one point, she decided to share her story with some school friends. Of course they all teased her about it being love by going through the whole routine of singing and bantering about it. However Kaede immediately refused the idea by stating that they were just close friends and that was it. But strangely, each time she said that something about it didn't seem right as her heart ached at the use of those words. Of course she kept that part to herself.

"Can't wait to see Kohta-kun again!" said Nyu with her sunny smile

"Hmm, I wonder how he will look like this year" smiled Kaede

"Hey, oneesan?" asked Nyu

"Yes?" she responded

"Do you think Kohta-kun knows what "whacking off" is? Maybe I should ask him" said Nyu

Kaede immediately choked at hearing her sister say such things. "You will not ask him that!"

"But why not? You won't tell me what it means" replied Nyu

"You're not old enough to understand yet" exclaimed Kaede. "Maybe after a few years"

"But you know and we're the same age" Nyu retorted

"I'm not going to tell you!" Kaede fired back

"Please?" purred Nyu

"No"

"Please?"

"No!"

"Please?"

"No!"

Although this trade off would continue for days, this was going to be one argument that Kaede refused to lose.

* * *

Author's notes: Sorry for the late update. I've been pretty busy with a lot of things such as homework, big tests, and life in general. But at the moment it might become more difficult to update looking at my current schedule. However I will try to maintain a regiment to when I will update.

Now this chapter was inspired from a manga I read so props to that, and I know that the realism behind it seemed impossible. But when you think about it an impossible situation can be turned into an improbable one when all the right stimuli are applied. For it just takes the right people, occurrences, and attention to make things happen.

In regards to the chapter's content, Nyu managed to fix a broken grandfather clock in the anime version which to me displayed a good sense of intuition. Of course the luck part was something I just threw in for the hell of it. But in relation to the club war event, both Kaede and Nyu horns were covered with ribbons (Kaede wore the ribbons since the beanie would get in the way during the event). So the Kakuzawa organization at this moment doesn't suspect them of being diclonius. However there does exist a suspicion as the culprit for the many deaths in Karakura looks remarkably like them. Additionally within this stories internet blog, Kaede and Nyu are believed to be the same person to whom they were just photo shopped to be in the same picture together. Now as for the cosplay my original idea was to use Urusei Yatsura and have the sister's dress as the female lead. However they are still middle school students and that would be very jacked up to have them wear that. But the inspiration for why that anime/manga was because the female lead also had horns just like them which would make them fit the part exactly.


	14. Time

Chapter 14: Time

Synopsis: It is always best to make the most of the time you have. Whether you have days or decades time is something that waits for no one. So with this aspect how will the Hikaru family spend the time they have for summer.

Reminder: I do not own Elfen Lied or any characters associated with it

"talking"

_thoughts_

_

* * *

_

On the train to Yokohama, Kaede daydreamed as she watched the scenery pass her by. In her little world she pictured how Kohta would look like now after year of growing up. Of course imagination was never her strong suit as she began to have some rather ridiculous images to how he would look like. In one thought she pictured the boy completely buffed out to which his cloths could barely contain his body. However she cringed a bit at how stupid that idea was. But then another interesting idea came about at picturing Kohta being rather dashing as he wore a tuxedo while holding a bouquet of roses displaying an extremely cliché smile. Even though this idea was just as equally dumb she couldn't help but display a cute little blush. But she was then brought out of her thoughts as she heard giggles from the companions she was traveling with.

Kaede looked to see her sister and mother laughing quietly at her expression. "What's so funny?" she asked defensively

A mischievous look came about Nyu's face as she continued to giggle. "Was oneesan having some interesting thoughts?"

"No I wasn't!" she replied embarrassed. Due to the fact she refused to tell her twin about the adult theme acts done by people in their alone and together time Nyu decided to consort their mother on such wisdom. Now Mikomi to say the least was surprised that her innocent little girl wanted to know such voyeuristic knowledge. But she couldn't exactly refuse as she was getting to that critical age where it was best to know these things rather than allow them to experience them on their own. So doing her motherly duty she attempted to educate her daughter on some of these "things" that people did. However Mikomi even blushed a few times at some of the questions her little girl asked. The use of pseudonyms to lighten the impact of what she wanted to teach only made the ditzy diclonius ask more embarrassing questions. After an excruciating amount of time she managed to convince her to learn about it when she grew up some more.

"Now, Now Kaede your sister is only teasing you" smiled Mikomi "_because she doesn't actually know the intricate relationship between a man and a woman_"

Like a telepathic message, "Whatever" was the last response Kaede made to that subject. For the duration of the trip, the three women talked and laughed as they reminisced about past events at the time Kaede joined their small family.

Now after a span of one hour they eventually arrived at Yokohama station to be greeted by Kohta's family. This act was starting to become a tradition as they always did every summer since they met. The moment Kaede and Nyu stepped out they were greeted with the smiling faces of Kohta, Kanae, and Yuka.

"Long time no see" smiled Kohta

"Yes, too long" blushed Kaede at seeing how mature her close friend had gotten. Another year had passed and Kohta had indeed grown taller by at least an inch above her. Additionally he also seemed to have become more defined in figure. Meanwhile Nyu looked curiously from the background at the group as something caught her attention.

"So how have you been?" asked Kaede as the group moved towards the terminal

"We've been . . ." but before Kohta could speak any further Kanae shoved him aside so that she could stand next to her. "We've been all great!" she responded

"That's good to hear" as she smiled awkwardly

Kanae then looked down embarrassed to what she wanted to ask. "Umm, oneesan can I ask a request of you?"

Kaede immediately got an awkward feeling to what she wanted. But not wanting to be rude she decided to hear her out. "Yes, what is it?"

"Well the thing is . . . . I was wondering . . . . if you could . . . ." Kanae stuttered, but was promptly interrupted by a large cry from their chestnut haired companion.

"What are you doing?" squealed Yuka

Nyu gave a bit of a giggle as she cupped the mortified girl's chest giving it a slight squeeze every so often. "You definitely have gotten bigger" said Nyu ecstatically

Kohta looked at the scene awkwardly. But like how most guys would react he gave a slight blush and flinched back at seeing his cousin's peril. He then gave a slight lean towards Kaede's ear. "Why is she doing that?" he whispered

Kaede's face dropped a bit at how embarrassing her sister was behaving. "That's puberty for you" was all she could say.

A light smack then came to the gropers head as she promptly let go to see her attacker. "Okaasan, that really hurt" said Nyu as she rubbed the back of her head.

"Nyu, there are nicer ways to compliment someone and that's not one of them." Mikomi sighed a bit. "Where do you get these strange thoughts from?" she asked although not particularly to anyone.

"But I did compliment them" said Nyu as she felt Yuka up again

"Stop that!" blushed Yuka

Mikomi gave a deep sigh, "we really need to talk about this"

After the drama, Kaede and Nyu went to their hotel to get their stuff packed away before heading out with their mother and dog. The plan was to meet Kohta's group at a restaurant to have lunch together. Then afterwards go off and have some fun.

"So where are you off too?" asked Mikomi

"We're going to visit the Yokohama doll museum" said Nyu while displaying her trademark sunny smile. "There is so much I want to see"

Mikomi looked to her side to see Kohta looking down is despair. "Are you OK dear?"

The boy can only sigh as he collected his thoughts. "Nothing" was all he can say.

Mrs. Hikaru can sincerely say that she understood his pain having to go to a doll museum as a group outing with his friends. But at least he was being mature about it and not making a scene of the situation. However she was curious to how the circumstances ended this way.

"Don't be like that oniisan" said Kanae sympathetically. "You lost the bet fair and square with a Ja-Ken-Po match with oneesan"

"Yeah I know" Kohta said tiredly. In truth this was one game he honestly thought he could win. But having all the girls in his group working against him wasn't doing much for his confidence. Furthermore he didn't understand why Kaede was a part of this. In the time he had gotten to know the girl, she didn't seem the type to like extremely feminine things like make-up, perfume, lip stick, let alone dolls and plushies. But it actually did turn out that she did have a soft spot for cute little things as she would hug one extremely tight while displaying a cute little blush. Kohta sighed again.

"Be careful now" said Mikomi as she began to wave the group off

Kohta's father did the same action. But like previous times the idea of the children going off on their own didn't sit well with him. Of course his son's friend's mother would always "convince" him otherwise to which eventually he started to gain confidence in the elder women decision.

"Kohta! Watch out for your sister" he called

"Gotcha otosan!" Kohta called back as he left with the group to their destination

As they departed the elderly man witnessed as his son talked casually with the two pink haired girls. Of course he knew about the horns when his children talked about it and when he witnessed them first hand. But just like his son he too was an understanding man to not let trivial things such as that to dictate a person. Although he was curious about how they could have pink hair in the first place to which Mikomi couldn't really explain either.

A serious look then appeared on the man's face as he was deep in thought. He has been speculating a certain mystery which revolved around the train incident four years ago. By instinct he knew his children already knew the answer behind this particular question. Whenever he tried to probe for an answer his kids would immediately clam up about anything related to the Hikaru twins. At first he didn't like the idea of his children being involved with them if they were indeed connected to that incident. But at seeing Kohta and Kanae wishing to remain friends to them he figured whatever it was couldn't be that bad. Although children didn't always know what was best his elder son was always a good judge of character. In addition he always seemed to attract the oddest people to him so it couldn't be helped.

At that moment his facial features softened as he came about an interesting idea. In a few years along the road after those kids matured a bit, their friendship could possibly bloom into something more. He then gave an internal laugh at thinking how possibly someday he might have to call one of those girls daughters-in-law.

"It would be interesting if something more were to grow from this" said Kohta's father

Mikomi at the moment was petting the family dog as she watched the direction her children leave in. A sad smile then graced her features while giving a slight nod, "yes, but I won't live long enough to see it . . . . "

"What was that?" asked Kohta's father curiously

The elder women waved her hands in front of him in embarrassment. "No nothing, I was just saying it would be interesting to see something like that"

"_Strange_" he thought, but decided to leave it as mishearing and went back to his drink. Mikomi went back to petting the dog as she looked towards the distance with a sad smile.

Kohta slowly began to drift behind as the girls talked about all the dolls they were going to see. The boy could only sigh as he would have to endure an unknown amount of time going doll watching. Of course he liked the see good artwork in all things. But artwork and dolls were something that never quite caught up to him. Kaede noticed his missing presence and slowed down to talk to him while the others continued in front.

"What's wrong?" she asked

"Do I really have to say it" responded Kohta as part of his body began to hang

"It was a fair bet Kohta. You shouldn't be a sore loser about it" said Kaede

Kohta sighed again.

Kaede looked to him with sympathy. She didn't like making him do something that he completely dreaded. But then an interesting idea came to mind as a mischievous smirk made its way on her face. "I know a way I can make this better for you"

The teen boy looked up waiting to hear her out. "I'm not sure you can make doll watching any more exciting than it already is"

She then wrapped her arm around his back to bring him closer. "Well what I was thinking was . . . ." said the diclonius as she whispered her plan.

"You can do that!" exclaimed Kohta

"I've been working on it. But it takes a lot of concentration" she smirked

"But won't Yuka-san, Nyu-san, and Kanae get angry about this?" he then asked

"They'll most likely be good sports about this" Kaede said reassuringly. "Besides if they want we can do the same trick on someone else"

Kohta's face then grew into a fully lit smile. "Alright let's do it"

Now after sometime they finally arrived at the museum. As they entered Nyu and Kanae were filled with excitement at the many dolls to see. When the group went to the directory they saw how vast the collection was ranging from different cultures to different time periods. Meanwhile Kaede looked over the content table to find exactly what she was looking for. She then gave a slight nudge to Kohta to which he nodded as he saw the same thing she did.

"What's so funny?" asked Kanae as seeing her brother and idol giggling about something

"Oh nothing" smiled Kohta

The little girl then gave a smile. "It's good to see that you are feeling better now. Don't worry you'll have a good time as well"

The two began to giggle again at the thought of what they had in store.

"Umm, I'll be back in a moment" said Kaede. "I need to go see something. Kohta would you like to come with me?"

"OK" he replied as they left to places unknown

Nyu and Kanae looked curiously at the pair for their peculiar action. Although Yuka did feel a slight tightness well up inside at seeing her two friends hold hands as they went away. "_That's strange_" she thought. "_Why do I feel like this_" as she placed her hand over her heart.

A moment later the pair returned looking slightly out of breath. "Sorry for taking so long" said Kaede, "But anyways let's get going" and with that they were off to see the exhibit.

As they walked the group of teens were surprised to see many incredible things. A lot of the dolls were from all over the world like America, China, Africa, and Europe. Along the rows each doll indicated the time frame they were from as well as the purpose they served being either a simple toy or for some interesting tribal ritual. Even Kohta was soon having a good time as he started to move on to the nineteen hundreds collection featuring a lot of figurines and famous dolls featured in many films and television shows.

But soon as they were about to cross a certain section, Kaede looked to Kohta in anticipation. Since he seemed to be having fun so far she didn't want to pull off this act with the possible chance of ruining the day.

She then stood closely to his side giving his shirt sleeve a slight tug. "Do you still want to do this?"

Kohta thought deeply about this. "_We've been having a good time thus far and I don't want to ruin a perfectly good day_", but then he saw the three remaining girls close to the display case where the trap was set. "_But who can pass up an opportunity like this!_" "OK!"

So with that the prank began as the pair began the setup. Taking notice that hardly any other person was there Kohta began the chain of events.

"Hey look! It's that doll which was part of that spooky ritual" he said

"Spooky ritual?" Kanae asked

"In one of the oldest parts of the world this doll was said to hold the ability to allow people to communicate with the dead. Basically this doll would be used as a medium to bridge this world to the next." Kohta explained

"But how does it work?" Nyu then asked

"Well you just need to stare into the eyes of the doll and simply call out to someone" he said

"Call out to whom?" then asked Yuka

Kohta shrugged at this, "but wouldn't it be fun to try it out?"

"You can't possibly believe in such things" said Kaede jokingly

"Only one way to find out" to which he then began looking into the dolls eyes.

After a few minutes Yuka began patting his back for him to quit. "Kohta I think that's enough already. Come on let's go"

"Well I guess you're right" said Kohta as he began to move away with the group. But before anyone could turn away the dolls head then eerily turned towards them as if to look at them.

Yuka looked to Kaede with slight annoyance. "Kaede-san that isn't really funny of you to do"

But before she was about to respond, "did you hear that?" asked Kohta as he looked around confused

"Hear what?" said Kanae as she cupped her ears

"I can hear someone talking" said Kohta as he began moving closer to the said doll from earlier.

"Hey this isn't funny anymore" said Yuka as she was visibly beginning to shake

"What?" said Kohta, "I won't do that! What? Wait! I . . . I understand, please don't. I'll do what you say, wait! Don't! Don't! AHHHH!" as he was suddenly rushed from the ground and pulled to some unseen area of the museum

"Kohta!" screamed Kaede as she ran off to find him

"Wait! Oneesan!" cried Nyu

"Kaede! Knock it off! This prank really isn't funny!" called Yuka. But no response came as the three remaining girls looked around for the pair to show up and tell them it was a joke.

Now they were getting scared since this section of the museum was relatively deserted for the most part, and because it was eerily quiet it only added more tension to the situation. But suddenly the doll that Kohta was looking at was now pressed against the display window looking at them. If the girls were scared now they were totally freaked as its display window suddenly popped open. Nyu and Kanae grasped each other in fear while Yuka dropped to the ground shaking. But things suddenly got worse as more display windows shot open and dolls began to come alive while moving towards them.

"Stay back" Yuka cried as she tried to stay tough for her companions. But visibly she was barely able to compose herself enough to even look the part. Then suddenly clanging noises began to sound as anything that could be moved were suddenly being opened and shut or clanged against creating a chaos of sound.

"Oh my god! It's a poltergeist!" cried Nyu

"We're going to die!" then cried out Kanae

"Stay strong we'll get through this" stuttered Yuka. But then the dolls started to surround them as they flanked them in a circle. As they slowly began to close the gap the three girls started to cry in fear at their impending doom. However a moment later the clanging noise ceased as the laughter of two teenagers could be heard. As they opened their eyes they saw that all the dolls were now motionless on the ground while Kaede and Kohta walked out to laugh at them.

"That really wasn't funny!" exclaimed Yuka "I almost wet myself because of how scared I was!"

"That was really mean of you oneesan" cried Nyu as Kanae nodded in agreement

"Sorry, sorry" apologized Kaede "but you had to admit it was a good prank"

"You should have seen your faces" smiled Kohta

Now the three girls immediately were pissed as they chased the devious pair around the exhibit. But eventually they did cool off and had a good laugh at how well put the prank was for a last minute plan. Of course Yuka and Nyu berated Kaede for using her powers in such a way especially with security cameras watching. As soon as the diclonius girl found enough time to stop laughing she explained how she tampered with the cameras by facing them away and how additionally they couldn't record sound. So after a bit of bickering the group got together for another prank as they set up some unsuspecting tourists for a laugh. Just like last summer they would change up the roles and situations to keep things fresh and amusing. Of course Kaede made certain not to damage the dolls as she puppeteer them. But what made the situation too perfect was the area of their prank. For the dolls that were going to be used were from famous American horror films and television shows such as "Child's Play", "Goosebumps", "The Puppet Master", "The Twilight Zone", and many other shows from several other countries and cultures. But in time they eventually had to stop as police and security began to get involved to investigate the problem. So with that the children existed the building barely unable to contain their laughter.

"That was so fun" said Kanae while pumping her fists into air. "We should do something like this every year"

"Although it was amusing you shouldn't mess with people or their property like that" said Yuka

"It was a bit dangerous" Nyu agreed

"Alright alright we won't do pranks like that ever again" Kaede promised

"So what are we going to do tomorrow" asked Kohta as he folded his arms behind his head

"Can we go to the beach?" asked Kanae instantly

"Why?" then asked Kohta in response

"I was wondering if oneesan could fulfill my request there" said Kanae shyly

"Wait! You're not going to ask her to . . . ." said Kohta

But his sister immediately interjected "Don't tell her! I want to ask her myself . . . . "

Kaede was starting to get the weird again. Even though she liked the kid she honestly thought she was a bit weird in how spontaneous she sometimes acted. But if she thought that was strange her current behavior definitely gave her the willies. "What is it that you wanted to ask?" Kaede asked trying to sound as polite as possible.

Kanae blushed again as she swerved back and forth about how to word her request. "I'll tell you at the beach tomorrow, same place" she said quickly before running off

"Hey don't go off on your own!" called Kohta. He then turned to the Hikaru twins and waved to them. "I guess we'll see you tomorrow. So until then"

"Good-bye" bowed Yuka before she too left trying to catch up with her cousins

"Will things be alright?" asked Nyu quizzically

"I have no idea" was all she could reply as the two returned home for the evening

* * *

The next day the group met up at their usual beach spot. Upon arriving the four teenagers plus one pre-teen got dressed into their swimming attire. Kohta was the first to emerge wearing blue swim trunks with an orange line pattern along with an open light blue over shirt. As he waited the girls came out one by one starting with Kanae, Yuka, and then Nyu. Each of them was dressed in cutesy one piece swimsuits having their own unique color and design. However one person was missing from the group as he turned his head back and forth looking for her.

"Where's Kaede-san?" asked Kohta

"She said she needed more time" shrugged Nyu

"Oi! What's taking so long" he called

"Alright, I'm coming out now" Kaede called back and as she emerged Kohta mouth almost felt like hanging open.

The moment the pink diclonius exited the changing room everyone was stunned (or in awe) at her choice of swimming attire for the summer. Kaede this year decided to wear a two piece swimsuit in which it was mostly white with an interesting pink design to it. Kohta gulped a bit unconsciously as she slowly began to approach. Her pale complexion and natural pink hair really did go well with her outfit. As if out of impulse, "you look beautiful" were the words he blurted out. Kaede unconsciously covered herself while blushing, "thank you"

Nyu looked her over since she was unaware of this new outfit. She then gave her a slight poke to test the sturdiness of her appearance. "Oneesan chose a rather bold statement this year"

In truth that was the point. This year she wanted to impress her special friend with a very revealing statement. Although she was embarrassed from how much skin she was showing her reward was how Kohta reacted when he saw her.

"Do you like it?" Kaede asked

"Yeah it looks great" stuttered Kohta with a blush

"Yeah! It really shows how big you've gotten!" then said Nyu as she suddenly groped her sister's chest. As an immediate reaction Kaede whacked her over the head for her perversion.

"You really need to break that habit" she sighed

Kanae then made her way towards her still sporting the same embarrassed look from before. "Um, I would like to request something from you oneesan"

Once again Kaede felt an unusual sensation to what she was about to be asked. "Uhh, what is it?"

"I . . . . I was wondering . . . . if . . . . if I could . . . ." stuttered the little girl as she tried to get out what she wanted

"Yes? What is it?" asked Kaede patiently

Kanae began to tense a bit before she finally exploded on the thing she wanted to ask. "Can I challenge you to a fight?"

Everyone in the group was stunned silent at the blunt request. But more so Kaede wasn't even sure how to respond to this.

"Excuse me?" was all she could say

"I've been practicing all this time and I've grown much stronger. I'm already a brown belt and I want to see how I do against you" said Kanae as her eyes were like saucers

Kaede looked to the girls elder brother as he nodded his head in confirmation that she wasn't exaggerating. "It's true, she even won a state championship to prove it"

The pink diclonius chuckled nervously at the request. The matter of fact was she wasn't dressed for the occasion to be doing something extreme like that. I mean for god's sake this wasn't some wacky anime/manga scene where girls can fight easily in skin tight clothing while pulling off any good martial art moves. Additionally her brother was watching to which whether she won or lost meant possibly awkward moments later. But the biggest thing was she honestly didn't know how to fight. It was true she got into many scuffles with straightening out the schools low lives. Other than that she mostly relied on her powers while also getting lucky with swinging her fists around.

"Go Kanae! Go Kaede-san!" cheered Kohta

"You can do it oneesan!" then cheered Nyu

"Go Kanae! You can do it!" cheered Yuka

As Kaede watched her friends cheer from the sidelines it became apparent she was not getting out of this with a few words. She then turned her head to see her opponent setting herself in fighting stance ready to move at any moment. She chuckled nervously again as she too got into a fighting stance of her own.

"_I guess I won't really use my vectors_" she thought at the very moment a fist was one inch away from her face

"What was that?" exclaimed Kaede at the sudden attack. On instinct her vectors flared up protecting her from direct damage. However she had to admit that attack really packed some force behind it.

"You really are strong! Most people I went against didn't get through that much" said Kanae to which Kohta nodded as he remembered getting hit by the same attack the day his little sister perfected it

"_I guess I really do have to use my powers. But I won't use them offensively. Only to shield myself_" to which the two began the match. Now for the duration of the friendly fight Kaede played defensively as she blocked every attack that came at her while Kanae was like an animal trying to get a hit in. But after a short few minutes she managed to convince her little rival to call it a draw to which she reluctantly agreed. In all honesty she was surprised that a kid her age and build could fight better than most of the thugs she had to deal with. But she was glad it was over as they reunited with the others with many compliments to go around.

The group then decided to take a walk as they were now finding themselves at a nice cliff area overseeing the ocean. They then decided to hang out in the area to enjoy the scenery as Nyu and Kanae played around with Yuka having to babysit them. Meanwhile Kohta and Kaede sat at the cliff overseeing the ocean.

"This was a nice day" said Kaede "Although I could have done without the fighting"

Kohta chuckled a bit, "But Kanae is happy that now she has a goal to reach"

The diclonius girl looked to him in confusion to which he further explained

"Well this is just what I feel, but I think Kanae has been feeling slightly lonely" said Kohta

"What do you mean?" Kaede asked, "She has you, her dad, and all her friends"

Kohta shook his head, "What I mean was that she never had a way to fully express herself. I guess in a way she was chasing you and wanted to be just as strong as you someday"

Kaede blushed at the comment, "you give me far too much credit"

"It's the truth" he insisted, "and she'll probably want to go up against you some more once she does her training again"

The pink diclonius chuckled at this. "Well I guess we'll see" to which she got up and was about to walk away. But before she could get far enough she found that her balance was off as she began to fall backwards.

"_Huh?_" was all she could think as she was now falling towards the ocean.

"Kaede-san!" screamed Kohta. At this point, time seemed to slow down as she thought of how something as ridiculous as this could happen to her. But then her time was snapped forward as she saw Kohta jump right after her. As he reached her she felt him hold her tightly to protect her from the fall. When they hit the ocean all Kaede could think about was protecting him instead. Just before they hit, Kaede saw as her friends and family yelled out to them in concern.

* * *

"What happened?" groaned Kaede as she slowly came too. As her eyes opened she could tell it was quite visibly dark not to mention she had no idea how much time had passed since she fell. But then she noticed an unusual weight on top of her. As she looked down she saw her protector lying on her chest. Kaede's face immediately erupted into a blush. However Kohta was quite out cold. So taking this opportunity she pushed the boy onto this back as she got up to take a look around. But it proved to be difficult as she soon found out that her ankle was sprained. She soon limped her way around the area to see it was some sort of cavern which was at the edge of the cliff. She then attempted to focus her powers in an attempt to climb out. But found that due to her ankle the pain made it too difficult to focus on the task. She then turned back to see her companion regaining consciousness.

"Kohta! Are you OK?" said Kaede worriedly

"Yeah I'm fine" Kohta responded as he rubbed his head. "Where are we?"

"We seem to be in a cavern at the bottom of the cliff. But it's evening now so how knows how much time could have passed" Kaede answered anxiously

"I see" he said, "Most likely Yuka-san and the others went off to go get help. But I guess we just haven't been found yet"

"I suppose not" Kaede said feeling rather depressed

"By the way Kaede-san . . . . um . . . . " said Kohta as he began to blush

"What is it?" she asked

"Umm, your swimsuit . . . " to which the pink diclonius looked down to see her bikini top was damaged and about to fall off. Kaede shrieked as she covered her chest. Kohta immediately responded as he took off his shirt and handed it to her to which she took and promptly put on.

He then noticed her face contort in pain to which he looked down to see an awful swelling. "Kaede-san! You're hurt!"

"Its fine" she replied while trying to display a tough demeanor. However he wasn't buying it. So thinking calmly about it, Kohta remembered that the cold water and salt content in seaweed should deal with the injury. So being as gentle as possible he started to bandage Kaede's ankle to which she blushed as he treated her. Afterwards the pair sat quietly next to each other as they waited for help to arrive.

Now as they waited, the pair could see a nice view of the twilight as the sun set for the day. But as time passed, the adrenaline began to wear off as Kaede started to feel tired. So taking the opportunity, she laid her head on her companion's shoulder to which he slightly tensed only to relax a moment later.

"Do you think they'll find us soon?" Kaede asked

"I'm sure they will" said Kohta as he leaned into her trying to keep warm

A moment of silence later, a smile began to form as she thought about her life up till now. "Thank you Kohta"

"For what?" he asked

"For always being so nice to me" she responded

Kohta scoffed at this, "I'm sure there must have been plenty of nice people around you"

Kaede shook her head slightly, "mother, Nyu, Yuka, Kanae, and the people I've come to know are always nice to me. But you . . . . I always feel so warm when I'm with you"

"Kaede-san?" said Kohta as he turned his head to look at her

"Kohta . . . ." Kaede softly responded as she too looked back at him. An incredible smile then began to spread on her face as she felt warmth build in her chest to which she has never felt before. Slowly her head began to etch toward him as he too closely began to mimic the same move. As she came closer she found that her eyes begin to instinctively close as her heart began to race even faster. Within that moment the two young teens shared their first kiss.

"_So soft_" they both thought as they kept contact for what seemed like forever. As they eventually broke apart, both teens heavily blushed at the sudden act they just performed.

Pleasant silence passed as the two kids looked at each other. After a moment Kaede decided to speak up. "So . . . . um . . . ."she stuttered while trying to find the right words

"So what does this make us now?" asked Kohta who was equally as flustered

"I . . . . I don't know" said Kaede

"Does that make us a couple now?" he then asked

Kaede blushed at the notion, but then went to a solemn look. "I don't really know. But it's OK for now if we just remain friends"

Kohta felt a slight disappointment, but also understood as they were still a bit too young to be doing anything like this. "Yeah, that'll be fine for now"

The two teens then smiled and giggled for a bit. But soon they noticed a path form to which was most likely due to the receding tides. Kohta then got up and extended his hand to which Kaede took with a smile. He then took her into a piggyback ride as he walked the both of them back to the surface. As they reached the top, Kohta continued to walk to the nearest station to report where they were.

"Sorry for being so heavy" Kaede blushed

"It's no problem, you're not that heavy" said Kohta

The pink diclonius then leaned into his back as she nuzzled her face to his neck. She inhaled his scent enjoying the smell of the boy she had come to truly respect and possibly like. "Please don't ever change" Kaede whispered

"Don't worry" he smiled, "But I can't say the same for you"

Kaede blushed again at what he was implying, but decided to leave it as she tightened her grip around him. "Pervert" was last thing she said as she fell asleep on his back

Upon their return the two teens got a mouth full from their parents at how reckless they were. However they were happier that they returned as well as how brave Kohta acted while jumping into the ocean. But more so Yuka balled all over him for how stupid he acted. Eventually she calmed down enough for only Kanae to pick up the slack with the excessive tears. But the peak of the moment was when Nyu initiated the group hug with the pair in the middle as they were squeezed and cried upon. After that incident things went back to normal as the group went back to enjoying their time together. Like each time, the group ended their summer memories with the festival that brought them all together. As always Kanae and Nyu were the life of the group as they brought much joy to everyone. But as their summer time together closed Kohta would secretly hold a certain dicloniuses hand as they kept the memory of their first kiss together a secret while they walked hand and hand behind the group down the festival path.

* * *

Author's notes: I hope this chapter was a nice read. Also if you ever participated or seen a martial arts tournament on the state or international level I guarantee you will see kids around the age of ten to fourteen who fight like animals. Some of the things they do are pretty wild. But allowing Kanae to develop as such a character is something I'm experimenting with. So I apologize if doing so leaves a bad taste for anyone. But at the moment I want to try and create a love triangle/square with Nyu and/or Yuka in on it. However I'm not sure how to go about it. If you have any suggestions I'm more then willingly to hear them. But don't worry this fic will end with Kohta and Kaede/Nyu/Lucy getting together in the end.

So I thank you for your time in reading this fic and further extend my gratitude if you can review it as well.


	15. Tragedy

Chapter 15: Tragedy

Synopsis: Life can sometimes have their turn about. One moment one may be walking on air, but the next they can feel their world completely crumbling around them. However in our young diclonius, it would seem fate is never kind to her as tragedy seems to follow her like a shadow. But like all things they are but reflections of the choices we make in life.

Reminder: I do not own Elfen Lied or any characters associated with it

"talking"

_thoughts_

_

* * *

_

As a certain diclonius walked down the hall, anyone who knew her could tell that something was different about her. It wasn't her appearance as she still dressed in the school's male uniform and it wasn't her personality as her face kept the usual indifference it usually did when she was around people. What was different about her was her atmosphere. Anyone who could tell, Kaede was radiating an aura of bliss over her usual nonchalant attitude. At this everyone was curious to what could have gotten the usually introverted girl to be so happy.

Unknowingly the pink diclonius had a bit of a skip to her step as she hummed to herself. The memory of kissing Kohta was still fresh in her mind. Even after summer ended and school began she still felt like she was walking on air as she still remembered the warm feeling of his lips. Of course Nyu wanted to know why she was so happy, but this was one thing she wanted to keep to herself. However her mother was another case as hiding secrets from her was nearly impossible considering her abilities and deductive reasoning. But other than that she was in complete ecstasy.

Soon lunch came as Kaede was hanging around her sister and friends as they talked about girl stuff. Although she didn't quite know them as well as her sister they were usually the only group of people that she trusted enough to watch her when she didn't. Plus it was the only group that would talk to her as if she were another person regardless of her school status. But after a few word exchanges, 'that' topic once again reemerged as Nyu looked to her sister.

"Oneesan, why have you been smiling all day?" the ditsy diclonius asked.

"What are you talking about?" Kaede responded. "I haven't been smiling at all today."

"Yes you have, you're even smiling right now" interjected one of the friends.

Kaede blushed in embarrassment after realizing it was true. "It's for no particular reason. I'm just feeling in a good mood lately, that's all."

"But you've been like that since summer ended. Did something happen?" asked Nyu.

With that statement, the memory of her first kiss came up as a slight blush covered her cheeks. She then did a very unnaturally feminine thing by cupping her cheeks while giving a slight wiggle. "No, nothing happened" she insisted.

A mischievous smile came to some of her friends at the implication of what this could mean. "Oh? Then did Kaede-san meet a boy perhaps?" one of them asked.

The pink diclonius flinched at that question. "What are you talking about? That's just crazy!"

However her strong resistance only showed they were close to what it could have been.

"So it is a boy! Who is he? What's his name?"

Kaede began to shake her head while waving her hands. "It isn't anything like that, I assure you."

"Were you two holding hands?"

"I told you it isn't anything like that!" she replied.

"Did you two do . . . . 'that'?"

Her face flared into a blush while her head twitched towards the questioner. "I'm not that loose!"

"So it is someone you know! Who is it?"

"As I said, it's nothing like that" Kaede said becoming utterly embarrassed.

In that moment one of the friends patted her fist onto top of her palm. "You kissed him didn't you?" Kaede's body completely stalled with the nail getting hit right on the head. "_So that's it_" everyone thought at seeing the school idols reaction.

"Oh my god so who is he? Is it that Kohta guy you've been talking about? How was your first kiss? What was it like? Was their tongue?" and so on and so forth as the questions poured in. At each question the pink diclonius refused each of them by stating they were either crazy or completely off. Furthermore every time she tried to change the subject it only confirmed what everyone was thinking. "_She must be serious about this guy_." But unknown to everyone a certain horned girl fell out of the conversation as she listened quietly to what this all meant.

Finally when the day came to an end the two girls walked home as they usually did. However something was different as Nyu was not normally walking side by side with her sister. As they walked she began to slowly drift behind to which she was soon a foot behind. But before long they both stopped as Nyu grabbed Kaede shirt sleeve.

"What's up?" asked Kaede as she turned towards her twin.

Nyu's eyes were shadowed underneath her bangs. "Is it true?"

"Is what true?" asked Kaede.

"Did you kiss Kohta-kun?" asked Nyu as her voice trembled.

A sudden tightness began to well up inside Kaede. "_Is this guilt_" she wondered. "What do you mean?"

"Did you kiss Kohta-kun?" asked Nyu again with more urgency to her voice.

A sad expression then began to appear on her face, but soon turned it into chuckle. "Don't be silly Nyu, would I really do something like that?"

Her sister then looked up with a frown. "Please don't lie to me! You've always been truthful to me before and helped me when I needed it. So please oneesan, tell me the truth . . . . "

Guilt began to twist on her face as she watched her precious sister on the brink of tears. "Nyu . . . . do you like Kohta? As in like him like him?"

The ditzy girl's eyes looked down with uncertainty. "I don't know", her head then snapped as she was on verge of tears "please oneesan! Please tell me the truth?"

Kaede couldn't decide what she should do. Kissing Kohta was a memory she wanted to keep to herself. However her sister was someone she equally valued and had swore to protect long ago. But now she was facing a problem. On one hand if she told her the truth, it would hurt her if being with Kohta really meant that much to her. But on the other hand if she lied she would only delay the inevitable to which she would be setting her up for a greater fall. So her choice was clear to what she had to do.

"Yes . . . . Yes, I did kiss him" Nyu's heart sank at those words. Kaede then faced away as she had more to say. "But it didn't mean anything! It was just the spur of the moment and . . . . if it bothers you that much . . . . I promise it won't ever happen again." As she said this her heart too began to sink while her eyes began to redden. But as she finished what she had to say Nyu immediately broke off into a run. However as she left Kaede knew she saw tears fly off when she passed by.

"Nyu! Wait!" she called as she began to give chase.

* * *

Mikomi was recently finishing up her duties for the day as she completed her final program check while beginning to start on dinner. As she was preparing things she heard two large door slams as her children entered the house. Without even needing to use her abilities it was quite obvious that something was wrong.

"Nyu! Hold on! Please talk to me!" called Kaede as she chased after her twin. But before she could get into reaching distance she slammed the door in her face which led to their room. But as she was about to reach the door knob she found herself hesitant as she couldn't bring herself to grab it. "_Why did this happen?_"

"Kaede . . . ."

The said girl turned around to be faced by her mother as she displayed a concerned look upon her face. "It happened didn't it?" to which Kaede nodded her head.

The two women then sat down at the table across from each other. Mikomi looked at her daughter calmly as she sat perfectly still to hear what she had to say. But Kaede was an absolute mess as she looked down with her red swollen eyes with her fists clenched on her lap. Even though they were at the table to talk neither of them could say a word.

"I didn't think things were going to turn out like this" she said quietly "But this was just something I didn't want to share with anyone." Kaede then gave sad chuckle, "But it's strange that after all the times we've been together this was the one thing I refused to share with her . . . ."

Mikomi let out a sigh as she closed her eyes. A moment later she opened them after contemplating what she wanted to say. "Kaede . . . What has occurred is a very complicated thing. But do you know how she feels about Kohta-kun?"

"She wasn't sure" responded Kaede.

"Well that sure make things harder" replied Mikomi. She then began to rub the back of her head as she began to think harder on how to solve this dilemma. "It's complicated because she doesn't quite know how she feels. But you don't know how you feel towards him either, right?" The pink diclonius looked up at that statement.

She sighed again, "I'm pretty sure you two are in the same boat as each other with the uncertainty if what you feel for your friend to be platonic or un-platonic love. But either way you shouldn't let something like this get in between family. So just go talk to your sister and make yourself clear. You two are both grown up now so you know what to do right?"

Kaede nodded her head as she proceeded to get up. "I understand" to which a slight smile came to her face, "thank you mother" Mikomi responded with a calm smile as her daughter left to face her twin.

As she approached the door she found herself hesitant once again to reach for the doorknob. But after gathering enough resolve she opened the door and proceeded inside. "Nyu are you awake?" However the aforementioned girl rolled to her side without answering back. "_She must be really mad_" thought Kaede sadly.

Nyu looked to the side of the room not wanting to look at her at the moment. But rationally she didn't understand what she was feeling. She wasn't angry with her sister nor was she sad. However there was emptiness inside of her she couldn't explain but didn't want her to see. But then out of the blue someone flopped themselves on her bed as they were back to back with her. Nyu was surprised at this action, but continued to stare at the wall in front of her.

"Nyu . . . . remember when you use to sneak into my bed when you were feeling scared or alone? That is how I feel right now. I like Kohta, I really really like him. But I don't know if how I feel for him actually means anything more than that." Nyu then began to hear sniffling. "But if how I feel means I have to lose you in the process then I don't want to feel this anymore!"

As she finished what she had to say a pair of arms were wrapped around her waist to pull her in. Kaede gasped at the sudden movement but soon settled into the hug. "I . . . . I don't know what to feel right now. I felt so sad when I learned you kissed Kohta-kun" Nyu began to sniffle. "But I don't know why I'm feeling this and it hurts so much" to which she started to hold her sister tighter now.

"I sorry oneesan, I didn't want to hurt you by being self-fish. But I couldn't help but feel this way." Nyu paused for a moment to gather her thoughts. "But I too don't want to lose oneesan . . . . I really like Kohta-kun and I don't know what it means yet." Tears then began to slide off the girls face. "But if feeling this way means I have to lose oneesan then I don't want to have these feelings either!"

"Nyu . . . ." Kaede whispered as she placed her hand over her sisters. She then loosened her hands as she turned around to see her weeping face. Kaede then brushed away the loose tear from her twin's eye. "I guess we're both fools for Kohta huh?" to which Nyu nodded her head in agreement.

"But neither of us really knows how we should feel for him. But Nyu . . . . whatever Kohta chooses I'll be rooting for you from behind." The ditzy girl gave a slight smile to this. "And I'll be rooting for you too oneesan."The two girls giggled a bit for how silly it was to fight over such a thing in the first place. Afterwards the two fell asleep in each others arms happy that they could keep their bond while not fighting over Kohta. But they both realized that someday they would have to resolve how they felt for their special friend. In that time they understood that only one of them could be with Kohta. However that time has not yet come as this was something they could postpone until he made the decision on what he wanted to do. So until then what mattered most was the friendship they had with him as well as the bond they shared with each other.

Mikomi gave a soft smile as she stood next to her children's door. She was glad that her daughters were able to come to an understanding. But just like them, she too understood that this was something that wasn't going to go away. At this point in time all she cared about was their safety and preparing them for the time they had to cross that bridge. As she turned around and headed towards the dining table a sad expression then came about her. But before going there she went to a particular desk and opened a special compartment. In that compartment was a journal she has been writing in since the time Kaede had entered her life. As she sat down at the table she knew this was going to be the final entry she was going to write. Tears began to form in the woman's eye as she wrote down her final thoughts for the coming day. But she wasn't sad that she was leaving this world. Instead she was sad because she wouldn't be able to watch her daughters grow up. She loved her children more than anything in this world. As she finished her final thoughts the older woman completely broke down as her head was now on the table. But even though she didn't want her children to hear her cry her tears would not stop pouring as she had to accept her inevitable fate. After a while Mikomi hid her journal away as she prepared herself for tomorrow . . . . her final day.

* * *

-Dream Sequence-

Kaede wasn't sure where she was. But wherever it was it seemed to by a storage room of some sort. But more importantly, she sensed a deep anxiety and despair grow within her. From what she was able to put together, she knew she was holding a middle school girl who was roughly her age and had short black hair. But her heart was racing because the girl she was holding was bleeding and no matter what she did the blood wouldn't stop coming. The next thing Kaede saw was a bunch of men dressed in black who seemed to be pointing guns at them. But as she watched closely, two men stood out the most in the group. One man was rather sharp looking with his glasses while the other gave off a creepy vibe. During this time she didn't quite know what she was saying to them, but she did know she was begging about something. Even though it was slightly distorted she was able to understand some of what she was saying.

"This has nothing to do with her! Please save her . . . ." said Kaede

The man with the glasses still looked at her coldly. "What are you talking about? You girls have killed together right? Did I get it wrong?" Kaede flinched at those words. "But . . . . If you do as I say I will save her . . . . If you surrender quietly we will save the girl. But we will kill her if you resist. Think about it carefully . . . . about what you can do now and what you can't do."

Her face scrunched at what she had to do but then relaxed. "You'll keep your word right?"

"Of course" replied the man. She then relaxed her body as a show of defeat.

"Seize her" then said the man as his miniature army forced her to the ground as they placed their restraints. As she laid there defeated the man approached her. "Don't worry, I'll definitely keep my word"

Even though he said that he wasn't able too. Days passed as she was bounded and chained in a suspended cage like a trophy. Then one day that man came back to tell her she died. In knowing that she took an oath that someday that man was going to pay for what he did her. He was going to understand what it meant to suffer by having everything stolen from him. But even thinking that she couldn't understand why. She didn't know who the girl was, she didn't know who the man was, and she didn't understand why she would even be in a situation like this. However as the dream ended all she could feel was despair as her tears refused to stop no matter how much she begged.

-End Dream Sequence-

* * *

The pink diclonius suddenly gasped awake at the intensity of the dream. As she got up she put her hand to her face to feel herself completely drenched. "Have I been crying?"

"Oneesan, are you alright?"

Kaede looked back to see her sister looking up worriedly. "_That's right we fell asleep in the same bed_." She then turned her head to see the clock. "We overslept! Come on we have to take a quick bath and get ready for school!" On that order the two diclonius got ready for the day as they went out to meet their mother who did something rather uncharacteristic that morning.

As they were about to leave Mikomi grasped them both in a big hug and held them tightly there for a while. Of course their mother was a very affectionate woman, but something about today seemed weird.

"Mother, were going to be late for school! It's not like you're not going to see us again" said Kaede

Mikomi chuckled, "I just wanted to hug you two while I still can"

The pink diclonius displayed a blush of embarrassment while her sister simply returned the gesture. A moment later the twins were off as their mother waved them off as she did every morning.

Now as the girls arrived at school they walked down a hall towards their homeroom class. But on the way there a small group seemed to have formed which was mostly consistent of girls. Curious, the two diclonius twins look into the group. In the center was one of their classmates who were crying deeply as she made no effort to hide it.

"What happened?" asked Kaede

"Something tragic" said one of her other classmates. "Her mother died last night from a heart attack. They just recently found her body lying around in the work district"

"That's so sad" said Nyu sympathetically

"But I know her mother. She was a very healthy person. I mean she was the type who preferred to walk from and to any destination there was" said Kaede

"I know" replied the classmate. "It was her usual routine of walking home last night. But according to reports it was like out of the blue that she suddenly died like that"

"How strange" said Kaede as her sister went to the center to hug and console the sad girl.

After some time, Nyu managed to calm the girl enough to stop crying and help her into the classroom. As class progressed Kaede found herself staring off again.

"_Strange . . . . I haven't felt like this for years_" she thought. The last time she felt so strongly about an unusual death was during the time she first met Kohta. During that event there had seemed to be a serial murderer going around who caused the death of many families. Even today the case remained unresolved as the only connection between all the deaths were how they died. Just like that time she felt an unusual . . . . connection that somehow she was responsible. But just like that time such an idea was ridiculous for the obvious fact of her non-involvement. However she still felt guilty for some unknown reason.

Furthermore there was also that strange dream from last night. It felt so lucid like that last time. Kaede shook her head at this. Such a thing was just too crazy even for her standards to believe. Although there were coincidences there were also inconsistencies. For example, in that last dream there was a marker there to indicate a grave. But when she got there no such thing existed. In her recent dream she didn't own any cloths that looked remotely similar to ones she was wearing then.

"_Whatever_" thought Kaede as she resumed her usual class activities.

As classes came to a close, the two diclonius sisters walked home that day discussing the events of day. But after some time they arrived home to notice something amiss.

"Why is the door opened?" Kaede asked, but as she looked to her sister she noticed a shocked expression to her face. "What's wrong?"

Nyu then pointed to the doormat. As she looked her face duplicated the same expression. "Blood?"

Kaede forced the door open to see more of it as it was a smear leading into the greeting room. Following the trail her heart felt like it just fell out. "Kohta!" she shouted as she picked the dogs head up. "Please be alright!" However no response came from the canine as it laid in its own blood. Tears began to form on the frantic girl, but there was no time for that as she heard a rattling sound from the next room over. Kaede quickly got up to take a look as Nyu checked the dog over.

As the she made her way there, what appeared before her eyes hollowed out her existence. There in that room her mother laid barely conscious on the floor as many of her organs were either hanging or removed from her body. On top of her was a man who sadistically smiled as he took his time with the dissection.

"You!" said Kaede as her empty eyes turned from shock to rage. She immediately recognized who he was. It was the same man that attacked her and her family years ago back in Yokohama.

The man taking notice of her presence turned around and pulled out a gun. As he pulled the trigger nothing seemed to happen. A moment later the barrel fell off to the man's immediate surprise. Then afterward; the revolver, the hammer, and then the trigger followed suit. A shocked expression then appeared on the man as not only his weapon appeared to have been through a meat cleaver, but so did his hand.

"Ahhhhhhhh!" the man screamed as his fingers fell off in multiple pieces

Kaede's image began to darken as her face became completely shadowed. But the one distinction the man made was how the girls eyes were showing as they reflected absolute blood lust. The next moment his left arm was cut off followed by his right leg and left foot. The assailant was now completely paralyzed in pain as he fell to the floor due to his missing limbs. However he did not fall as he then found himself lifted into the air and pinned to the wall. Just like déjà vu that same girl walked up to him in the exact movement and expression she did less than half a decade ago.

"I should have killed you then" said Kaede. Although her facial expression was still the same, tears were streaming down her face. "If I killed you then none of this would have happened."

But just when the man was about to speak his right arm was then cut off. "You're going to die for this you fucking bastard!" and as her psychic arms flew in to decapitate the man three words stopped her from finishing the action.

"Don't do it"

Kaede looked back to see her mother staring at her with pleading eyes. "Please . . . . let him go . . . . allow the police to handle this matter" she said as blood spilled out of her mouth

The enraged girl then re-focused her attention back on the man as her eyes closed shut. "I won't! he has to pay for what he's done!"

"Kaede . . . . you have to let him go . . . ." repeated Mikomi again

"Why? Why do I have to?" she shouted

Mikomi let out a single tear, "because he's your father . . . ." Her eyes snapped open at that statement

Kaede's face twisted into shock, but then began to scrunch out of anger. How could such a man be her father? Not only did he attack mother he even attacked them. The very fact he was her father made it even more appealing to kill him. With a hard choice she threw the man to the side, but not before pleasurably burning his wounds shut with a steaming iron.

Nyu was next to their mother as she was dealing with the attacker. As soon as she was done she immediately rushed to her side.

"Please . . . . tell me it isn't true . . . . tell me that bastard isn't my father" said Kaede as she took her mother's hand.

Mikomi remained silent confirming her fears. A moment passed, "Kaede . . . . go to my desk . . . . check the second drawer . . . . you'll find a secret compartment there . . . . bring me what you find . . . "

The frantic girl did what she was told and a few minutes later came back with journal in hand. Mikomi reached up pressing her hand against her cheek to which Kaede put her hand on top of hers.

"Everything you wanted to know will be in that journal . . . . but promise me something" said Mikomi as she was barely hanging in there

"No! Don't say that!" cried Kaede

"You'll be alright okaasan! Please don't leave us!" cried Nyu

Mikomi gave a choked chuckle as tears left her eyes. "Nyu . . . . be a good girl and don't cause your big sister any problems . . . . Kaede . . . ."

"Please don't!" she begged "This isn't your time to die yet!"

The elder woman displayed a peaceful look. "Promise me Kaede . . . . protect your sister . . . . and never lose to the darkness"

The horned girl nodded her head as speaking became too difficult. As the mother of two felt her soul depart she had only one last thing to say with the few precious seconds she had left. "Don't forget you'll always be loved . . . . so live on and be happy" said Mikomi as she smiled for the last time.

Kaede and Nyu were choked up as they felt they couldn't breathe. But in time the flood gates came down as the two sisters cried with all they had. The Hikaru twins held their mother close and prayed with all their might that this was joke and that at any moment she would just spring back to life and tell them it was OK.

But unfortunately it was not the case. A few hours passed as police arrive to the report of a disturbance. Of course they were disturbed at how much blood there was in addition to the limbs and organs. However the matter was immediately cleared up as the assailant was confirmed and deemed insane for his constant raving that two little girls were devils for ripping his limbs off. As their mother and dog were removed the two girls were also asked to leave as well. However Kaede refused to leave which prompted her sister to do the same action. After a winded struggle the police decided that they would at least clean up the place if they were so adamant in staying. Some officers felt sympathy for their loss and had offered to watch over them until their fate was decided by the orphanage/adoption agency.

A week passed as their fate was still undetermined.

News of their tragedy quickly spread throughout the school in that short time. Many people attempted to console the sisters, but it proved to be impossible.

"Ayasuki" called the teacher

"Here" the student called

"Oomori" called the teacher

"Here" the student called

"Hikaru . . . . Hikaru . . . . Hikaru Kaede?" called the teacher

"She isn't coming" said Nyu. The ditsy girl was now a shadow of what she used to be. Once so full of energy and life had now diminished to being so ragged and tired.

"I understand" said the teacher

Within that week duration Kaede had stopped attending school due to her depression. In that free time, the pink diclonius vented her sorrow and anger on the many gangs and delinquents she could find. The constant fighting helped ease her pain, but she knew it was only a temporary fix. However, each afternoon before her sister came back she would visit the park. It was that place that brought her some peace as she sat on the swing her mother used to push her on.

"_Why did you have to go?_" she thought deeply. In her mother's journal it fully explains how everything came to be. It seemed her father was disgusted how they were born. So due to his vanity he threw them both away to the adoption agency. But because mother left him his mental state began to degrade. In time he turned out to be the man he was today. Kaede sighed, for she was at loss in what she was supposed to be doing with her life now.

But her attention was then forced back to reality as a soccer ball hit her in the face. "Sorry" said the boy as he came to collect his ball. The pink diclonius looked up angrily at being disturbed from her thought. But before she could react a middle school girl seemed to have been standing above her.

"Are you OK?" the girl asked as she handed her a hankie

Kaede looked back with surprise written on her face. "_This girl . . . . do I know her?_"

To be continued . . . . . .

* * *

Author's notes: The scenario gets direr. But for those who are wondering Mikomi did not contact the man in any such way which led to her current outcome. However I won't reveal how she knew she was going to die until much later in the story. Also guess what? Aiko will make her appearance. The dream scene was from chapter 85 where it flashbacks to the time between her childhood to her capture.

So I thank you for your time in reading this fic and further extend my gratitude if you can review it as well.


	16. Lifeline

Chapter 16: Lifeline

Synopsis: An individual's loss can cripple the soul in more ways than one. If they allow their sorrow to consume them then their path will only lead them towards more sadness and destruction. However, if one's heart is strong then sadness can be overcome as it can be put aside as they grow upon it. Now in this delicate state a young girl must choose her path wisely to either allow her sadness to consume her or put it aside to move on with her life.

Reminder: I do not own Elfen Lied or any characters associated with it

"talking"

_thoughts_

_

* * *

_

"_This girl . . . . Do I know her?_"

"Take this" said the middle school girl as she handed Kaede a hankie.

The pink diclonius looked up curiously to the stranger who had kindly offered her assistance. It was strange because this was exactly how she felt when she first met Kohta . . . . familiar yet sad. But the horned girl was brought out of her musing as the stranger waved the cloth in front of her.

"It's alright, I don't mind" said the brunette

"But my blood will stain it" said Kaede

"Look, I'll take care of the bleeding. Just come over to my house" then said the girl.

"Huh?" she replied incredulously. It wasn't everyday that a perfect stranger would kindly offer to take care of your wounds let alone let you into their house. "_What is she thinking? I could be a complete psycho for all she knows!_"

The middle school girl smiled. "It's close by, it's that apartment over there" as she waved her head in the said direction. "So it's OK if you come over".

The pink haired girl still looked to her dumbly as her offer was still quite sudden.

"Oh! Sorry for my rudeness. My name is Aiko, Takada Aiko" said the girl.

"Hikaru Kaede" she answered back

"Well what do you say?" smiled Aiko

Kaede thought deeply about this in her thinking pose. "_Hmm, perhaps I might understand why I feel this way towards her_" to which a moment later she agreed.

A short walk later and entering the simple apartment, Kaede took a seat on the floor mat as her 'philanthropist' went off to retrieve some medical supplies. She looked around to see the place to be in pretty rough condition. There were many cracked walls and broken windows which were crudely fixed with tape. But for the surrounding, it seemed to be well taken care of as far as she could see.

"_Jeez, do I look like some sort of charity case?_" she thought sourly as her face began to sag. However she couldn't refute that as she has been lacking in the hygiene department since . . . . that incident. "_Mother . . . ._"

"Sorry for the wait" said Aiko as she returned with medical supplies. The brunette then took a seat in front of her and began patching up her wounds.

"Does it feel better now? I guess it would hurt" she said attempting to strike up a conversation. "Those kids are mean. My house's windows have been broken several times".

But as she finished, "You have treated my wounds. I'll be going now" said Kaede as she stood and started to leave. After remembering that 'incident', she really didn't want to be bothered right now. Her heart began to feel heavy as the memory of her mother dying in front of her was still fresh in her mind.

"Why? I want to talk more with you!" exclaimed the brunette as she got up and seemed ready to chase her down.

Kaede continued to look straight without turning back. "I'm not interested in making friends right now".

The middle school girl looked sadly at her, but then made a strange request. "Actually I have a favor to ask. You see . . . . I want you to model for my drawings".

"Ehh? Why all of the sudden?" asked Kaede in a surprised manner

"It's not" replied Aiko, "here" as she handed her a sketchbook

"This is . . . . me?" Kaede questioned as she started to flip through the pages

"I'm . . . . I'm really sorry, but I really love to draw" said the girl. "And from this window I have been watching you in the park this past week".

"So, I always thought of making friends with you" she smiled. "Despite that, I'm glad to have had this chance to tell you the truth. My heart was beating really fast when I called out to you. But . . . ."

In the middle of her confession, someone appeared to have entered the facility. Kaede looked back to see the door open as an elder man and woman was standing there. The pink diclonius made note of their features as they stood before her. But simply by looking at their eyes, she knew they were bad news.

"Dad" said Aiko passively.

"You bitch, what are you doing? What about work?" said the man threateningly.

"Uhh, the store is not open today" she replied nervously as her body began to slightly shake in fear

The man's eyes then looked down with scrutiny at the notebook the girl was holding. "Hey, you're doing that drawing thing again aren't you?" he said angrily.

Aiko shivered at that statement. But then in an instant her father delivered a hard punch to her face which sent her crashing to the floor.

Kaede yelped in shock at the sudden display of hostility.

"What the hell in wrong with you? What are you implying about me?" he demanded.

The man soon lifted his daughter by the hem of her shirt. "Your mother left you! You still don't understand do you? If you don't like it here then you can leave anytime!" as he struck the helpless girl again.

"If you have free time, then why don't you go sell your body or something and earn some cash" he said angrily. As he cocked his arm to punch his child once again, he was interrupted as someone was holding him back.

"Stop it" said Kaede as she glared daggers into the man.

Aiko's father looked back angrily. "What the hell is your problem?" He then turned around and threateningly grasped her shirt which surprised her a bit. "You think I'm not going to beat you because you aren't my kid?"

Kaede looked to the fallen girl's form before looking back at her supposed attacker. She already had her fill with bastard fathers who behaved like pricks. To be honest, killing the man before her seemed like a good substitute for not being able to kill her own father. A man such as this disgusted her to a point where she really didn't mind taking out the trash. However, her kind hostess seemed to be a lot like her sister to which no matter how badly she's treated all she'll do is smile back. By her first impression, Aiko really did seem like a fragile person. So out of respect for her she made her decision.

"Originally, I was going to kill you. But since I don't want to see your daughter sad I'll forgive you" said Kaede. Now even she knew that was a poor way to diffuse the situation. But truth be told, she wanted an excuse to break his face in.

Just like a lamb to the slaughter, "Aah? Are you stupid or something?" as he launched his fist to her face.

However Kaede easily saw the attack coming as she grabbed his incoming punch, and with the help of many invisible arms threw the man right into the ceiling as he came crashing down right through the living room table. The woman who was watching was stunned at the unexpected scene. As he laid there stunned, the pink diclonius went and picked the girl up bridal style before exiting the area.

"You're an adult already. Act like one" said Kaede as she left with the Aiko in hand.

Afterwards the woman spectator then walked up as she kneeled next to the fallen man. "You're so miserable, even with a kid."

"Shit" he responded. But then his attention was focused on the ground as he saw a picture frame lying right under him.

* * *

The girl groaned as her face still hurt from the beating moments ago. As her eyes slowly opened she saw a familiar crimson looking back at her.

"Are you awake?" asked Kaede

"Umm, thank you" said Aiko as she slowly sat up on the bench in the park where they both were.

A moment passed in silence before Kaede decided to speak up. "Does he always beat you like that?"

The girl's refusal to answer was confirmation in itself.

"Why must you endure it?" she then asked

"Because . . . . I don't have anywhere to go . . . . because I'm weak" answered the girl. "And also . . . . my mother will come back to me".

"Your mom?" Kaede asked quizzically. "Then that lady earlier?"

"No, that's my dad's lover" said Aiko. "As for my real mother, she wanted to be a real painter. Just after giving birth to me, she went abroad leaving father and me behind. That's why I . . . . don't remember anything about my mother. But she did receive a huge reward there, and seemed to be doing very well. Because of that, father didn't seem to take that well. So he was very angry with me drawing".

The brunette looked down as her eyes became shadowed underneath her bangs. "Even though he beats me, I just let him. One day, my mother will surely be back. I believe that day will come when the three of us can live together".

Aiko then looked up on the brink of tears. "Am I too naïve? Although being deserted right after birth I still like my mother".

The pink diclonius looked straight as her thoughts became confused on the matter. "So that means your mother won't be returning back to Japan".

"The truth is . . . . mother is coming back now" said the girl.

"Hah?" replied Kaede at the revelation.

"There's an exhibition going on at the local mall starting tomorrow. So maybe she's in Japan right now" she replied.

"If that's true, why are you here? You should go meet her!" said Kaede enthusiastically

"You know . . . . I've always wanted to meet her. I think if I went there . . . . I would be scared of not being able to see her. Thinking I would bring her trouble" Aiko cried out

The horned girl looked to her sympathetically. "What are you talking about? Weren't you the one abandoned?" Her face then became more cheerful. "So it's OK if you go there with anger. You might regret it if you tell her straight up that you're her daughter. But if you don't you will regret it even more, and if you don't tell her properly you'll regret it forever. So show some courage" she smiled

"I . . . . When I was a kid I made a present. I hoped that someday, I would be able to give it to her. Dad would get angry, so I hid it in the attic. So I have to go deliver it, right?" the brunette smiled. Kaede smiled back in return.

"Hey, how about we go there together?" Aiko asked to which her companion agreed too.

As they went their separate ways, the brunette turned back happily. "Thank you! I'll see you tomorrow! I'm really happy that I met you today!"

Kaede smiled genuinely for the first time in that week. That girl . . . . was truly strong. With a mother that abandoned her and a father who didn't give a damn, she still looked up and continued to move on no matter how many tears she had shed along the way. She guessed in a way the reason why she felt such an affinity for the girl was due to how similar her aura was.

However she was more fortunate to have her mother in her life where her father would have most likely beaten her to death if things went a different way. But for now she decided to head home as she waited in anticipation for the upcoming day.

* * *

Meanwhile at that very mall . . . .

"It's almost time to go!" called a worker as he moved one of the paintings for the exhibition tomorrow.

The woman gave no response as she was lost in her own thought. "_That child . . . . I wonder if she would come to see my paintings_". The woman then looked down depressed.

"Am I really that stupid? How on Earth could I face her?" she said as she placed her hand to her face.

* * *

Kaede was walking back home as she was deep in thought about her recent encounter. But then one of the girl's statements struck at her at realizing what it could mean. "_It can't be . . . . but considering the apartment is so small_" as she remembered the gift the girl spoke of. "_This isn't good! I've got a really bad feeling about this!_"

She immediately raced back towards the place where that girl lived. As she arrived to their front door she began knocking quite furiously. Kaede waited to see if anyone would answer, but no one came. "_Maybe she's not here . . . . but the door is open_". She then proceeded to open it slowly as she entered, "Hello, is anyone there".

As she came in, her eyes were met with shock at the scene before her. There in that room the girl sat quietly in the fetal position while her father laid motionless on the floor with his blood apparently splattered all across the wall and floor.

"Ah, you came" said the girl midway in tears. "What am I going to do? I . . . . killed my father . . . ."

"Why?" Kaede asked softly as she was still shocked from the display before her.

"The painting of mother I made as a gift was found by father". Memories of her father's beatings then began to flash in her mind. "Father was very angry with it and tried to slash the painting. So . . . . I tried to stop him" she said as the memory of pushing his arm came which consequently caused his knife to cut through his carotid artery.

Aiko then stood up, "I . . . . am going to the police". Her arms then wrapped around her head as she began to cry. "I will never be able to meet my mother"

Kaede looked guiltily at her. "It's my fault, I crashed your ceiling and that's why your father was able to find it, right?" She then looked down deep in thought. "But wasn't this all an accident?"

"Ehh?" she replied by looking up. "But no one is going to believe that . . . ."

The pink diclonius was deep in thought again. It wasn't a matter of believing or not. But by the time this was all cleared up the chances of meeting her mother would have passed. Besides calling a woman who is your supposed mother from a police station isn't exactly a good first impression to make. More so then that is they delayed this matter for any longer the harder it would have been to prove innocence on her behalf.

"Kyaaaaaa!"

Kaede and Aiko looked back to see the woman from before as her face displayed absolute terror. "What have you girls done?"

The woman's body began to shiver at the implication of what this meant. "He's dead, he's dead, he's dead" she began to chant. "Murderer! Murderer! Somebody call the police, there is a murderer here!"

"Shit" said Kaede as she grabbed the Aiko's arm and proceeded to run out of there. "We're going to run! If we get caught you'll lose the time to meet your mother!"

"But . . . ."

"It's alright" Kaede said reassuringly. "I will make sure you meet your mother. Trust me!"

Aiko's tears began to stream as she ran absentmindedly next to her uncertain of what to do anymore.

* * *

Driving down a street, a black unmarked car toured its way around the Karakura downtown area. Within this vehicle two men talked seriously concerning the matter of the unusual deaths that have been occurring as of late in the city.

"Well then, what now?" asked the middle aged man. "A diclonius on her own, we have no choice but to search the area house by house".

The man with glasses continued to look straight while maintaining his stoic appearance. "Maybe we don't have too".

"Hah?"

"They will contact us as soon as someone collapses on the street. We also have the cooperation of the local police. If we get any updates, we'll get to the scene in no time. Now let's look into the report of the girl wearing the hat".

"The target is at least older than eight" then man continued. "There's no mistake that she has horns growing out of her head".

"I see, but even so we are still depending on luck" the other man replied

"Right but there was another thing. It was an interesting thing which I had hoped to find".

"What is it?"

"This is a photo of the demon that is going to destroy the world" then said the man with glasses.

"What kind of photo are you talking about?"

"You were talking about the incident five years ago the other day. One week before that there were four kids who were murdered at the social welfare facility. But the culprit was never found".

"That may have been the diclonius doing, but . . . ."

"This is the photo of one of the girl's who stayed there"

The other man gasped out in shock as he looked at the picture. "This is . . . ." but before he could finish his statement the phone rang to which the man with glasses picked up.

"This is Kurama . . . . I see, I understand. Go demand an inspection with the local police" as he soon hung up the phone. "That was unexpectedly fast".

"What's wrong?"

"A middle age male was found dead in a nearby apartment" said Kurama. "According to the witness, the suspects are his daughter and her friend".

"His daughter?"

"Ah, and one of them was wearing a knitted hat low over her eyes" then said Kurama.

* * *

The two girls arrived at their destination without too much trouble. They then stood in front of the mall where the show was going to take place.

"The exhibition is tomorrow. It's possible my mother will come here to prepare after the store closed" said Aiko. "Mother . . . . I wonder if she is already here"

Kaede looked happily at her at seeing her expression improve greatly after the incident with her father.

"But how do we get in there? It's closed already" she then said.

"Let's go to the rear" suggested Kaede

As they arrived at the back Aiko approached the door and attempted to open it. "It's not working, it's closed too" as she stepped back Kaede stepped forward as she began to concentrate her focus on the lock. "This is troublesome, the main entrance is open but there's a guard there".

As she finished saying that the pink diclonius pulled the door opened and walked inside. "Ehh? How did you open it?"

"Let's go" whispered Kaede.

"Ah, wait up" replied the brunette as she walked in too.

* * *

"Yeah this is the security room" answered an old man inside the security office of the mall. "Hmm? Murderers on the run? Well I know I have to be careful, but we're already closed here". The man then looked to his screen to see one of his buttons flash red. "What? The warehouse alarm is active".

The man got up with his flashlight as he went to investigate the scene. Upon arriving he saw as the door was clearly open with lock completely busted out the other side. "This can't be . . . . come on . . . ." as he remembered the phone call from earlier.

* * *

"This is the place I guess" said Aiko as the stood in front of the exhibition hall. "But the lights are off so the preparations are most likely done".

The two girls then entered the area as they saw many great pieces of art. "There's no one here after all . . . . it can't be helped, let's hide here and wait" said Kaede. But her companion immediately ran off as she finished her statement. "Hey! Where are you going?"

Kaede chased her companion into the next area only to find her staring intently at a painting before her. As the pink diclonius refocused her attention, the art piece was indeed captivating. In the drawing was a naked woman who was holding a child tightly close to her bosom. But the appealing part about it was something she couldn't describe in words. Just by looking at it one could almost feel the love radiating off the said painting. Her companion's eyes began to water at seeing the baby in the drawing.

"This is . . . . a painting of me. Mother still remembers me . . . ." said Aiko as tears began to silently fall off her face.

"_As I thought, it was a good idea to bring her here_" as Kaede smiled for her companions happiness. "Let's move to another section, the security is high here".

Outside the mall many police gathered completely barricading the area. The two men from before were also present as they stared at the structure.

"You sure this is the place?" asked Kurama

"Yes, the camera showed some girls in there" answered the officer

"What about the guests and workers?" he then asked

"They left already"

"Good, prepare to break in"

Now back in the mall, the two girls sat quietly in the toy section as they waited for tomorrow to come.

"I think you're an amazing person".

"Hmm?"

"Because you can even beat up my father and undo that lock" smiled the brunette.

"That's because . . . . I'm actually a magician" responded Kaede

"Ehh?"

"There is nothing I can do" she smiled sheepishly.

"Stop already with this childish talk" said Aiko. But then right before her eyes a cat doll sprang to life as it started to perform for them. Then more dolls began to float and circle above them as if to perform a choreographed dance. "Awesome! Awesome! So you really are a magician!"

Kaede blushed at this.

"Cool!" exclaimed Aiko as she hugged her horned friend. At the sudden contact, she lost control as the dolls dropped all around them. "No matter how many years it'll be if we could still be together I want us two to go on a painter's trip with you being the model . . . . we will draw a lot of sceneries".

The horned girl stayed silent to her proposal. It did indeed sound nice, but what about her own life? It was true that soon she wouldn't have a home to go back too due to not having a job or old enough to own property. Plus it wouldn't have really mattered since no one would have missed her if she left . . . . But wait! That wasn't right; there would still be someone there that would miss her if she were to go. "_Nyu!_" She remembered now, she clearly remembered that she promised her mother that she would watch over and protect her sister. Kaede cringed at this. She had been acting stupidly this entire time. For she wasn't alone in her pain as Nyu was feeling the exact same thing she did. During the week she was lost in her grief, Nyu was left alone to deal with her sadness. Even at night when they were together she would look away when she wanted someone to comfort her. But now after this experience it all became clear to her what she had to do.

"You don't want to?" asked Aiko as Kaede was being unresponsive.

Intense lights began to illuminate the area as the horned girl shielded her eyes from the intense beam. "_Were we found?_"

"Hold it right there, put your hands up where we can see them" said some man a little distance away

"Her description seems to match. Woven hat, pink hair, and roughly middle school age it has to be her" then said another man.

"But where is her accomplice?"

"Well find her later. The important thing is that we have . . . . "

"What the hell?" the other man screamed at seeing his partners head fall off. "You monster!" the man said as he started to open fire. But the bullets soon flew around randomly as he too was decapitated.

"_What is going on?_" thought Kaede as she got up and decided to look. Although a part of her told her to take her friend and run. Something compelled her to stay and see what it was.

"Where are you going? Weren't those gun shots?" said Aiko frantically

"Don't worry I'm a magician, right? Everything will be alright" she smiled back as she went towards the gun shots.

"But . . . ."

"Just wait there, I'll be right back" said Kaede and was soon off towards where the commotion was taking place.

Finding the light source she quietly sneaked closer to see what was going on. As she looked to one side, she saw two men accompanied by a whole bunch of police officers armed to the teeth pointing to the opposite direction. The horned girl shifted herself over to take a look and was shocked to see who was there.

"_Why is she here?_" thought Kaede fearfully at seeing the very girl she had not seen for close to half a decade. But there she stood, the only person in the whole world who scared her out of her wits. Lucy still wore the same style of clothing but bigger while sporting a similar hat to her own. The murderous girl stood silently in front of the firing squad as if she had nothing to fear.

"Surrender!" ordered the man in glasses. "You have nowhere to run!"

Lucy smirked as she lifted two nearby shelves and threw it at them. The group immediately took cover and opened fire as soon as they were in place. However bullets seemed to have no effect as they stopped harmlessly a foot away from her body. The police stopped at seeing this phenomenon before them.

"My turn" said Lucy as all the bullets turned around and shot back. At that action some officers were killed while others were injured. Those psychic arms were capable of launching their projectiles back fast enough to pierce their Kevlar vest.

"Tear gas! Use the tear gas!" commanded their senior officer. On that command several cans were launched as they exploded in midair smoke screening the area.

"Tsk, how annoying" said Lucy as she started to run away

"After her!" someone commanded as several officers began to chase.

"_I better get out of here too_" Kaede thought. "_If she is here there is no telling what's going to happen_". She soon sprang up and returned back to Aiko.

"What is going on?" she asked.

"Something bad, we have to get going now" said Kaede

"Are they here for us?" panicked Aiko. It was clear she felt guilty about killing her father. However, as much as she wanted to turn herself in she really wanted to see her mother if that was the last thing she did on this Earth.

"Don't worry, they found . . . . someone else to chase" replied the pink diclonius

"Ehh?"

"Anyways we better get going. Things here are only going to get worse before they get any better" she said.

The two girls began to move away from the gun fire as they attempted to exit the mall. Of course they were aware that due to this occurrence, the exhibit was most likely going to be closed. But right now what was more important was surviving. Judging by the intervals of gun fire, the police weren't interested in talking more so then shooting. But problems started to emerge as police started appearing in their exit routes. So the duo had to move quietly around the area as they looked for alternative ways to escape. Thankfully so far they haven't been discovered since the police were occupied with dealing with the immediate threat.

"She's a monster!"

"Get back-up over here!"

"Cover fire! Cover fire!"

"We need something heavier!"

These were the things the pair heard as the miniature army tried to subdue their target. Aiko was at a complete loss for what in the world was going on. However, her pink companion was quite aware of the current dilemma.

"_What the hell is she doing? At this rate this place is going to turn into a warzone!_"

"Kaede-san . . . . what's going on now?" whispered Aiko

"What do you mean?" Kaede replied

"The shooting . . . . it stopped" she said

The horned girl listened closely and sure enough the gun fire did indeed stop. But it was strange because she knew Lucy wouldn't have been taken down so easily and it was unlikely she killed all of them by now. Looking at the situation as it was this was a good opportunity to escape while her evil doppelganger had all the attention on herself.

"Quickly! This way!" whispered Kaede as she guided Aiko down a hall towards a supply room area. "There should be an exit here. So this is our chance, let's escape".

As the two rounded the corner and was about to enter the room surprise immediately jumped in as Kaede was now face to face with her other.

"Hello" to which both Kaede and Aiko were thrown clear across the room. The pink diclonius quickly hugged her friend close as she stopped their momentum with her vectors. After slowly setting them down she forced her brunette companion to stay behind her.

"Kaede-san! What is going on? Who is she? And why does she look like you?" said Aiko frantically.

"I'll answer your questions later. Just go hide and let me handle this". Aiko nodded her head as he took cover in a sturdy area. Kaede surveyed the area and what about to vomit at seeing how many corpses there was lying around. Lucy didn't spare anyone as there was just so much blood and guts everywhere. But that wasn't important now as focusing her intention on the enemy took priority. Since the last time they fought she was clearly outmatched. Even though her powers did indeed grow stronger over the years it would be too unrealistic to think that the girl across from her wasn't also the same. But this fight also had other problems because time was of the essence. The last thing she needed was avoiding bullets while fighting at the same time. To be honest she didn't know if she could stop bullets like Lucy since she never really had the opportunity to try. But it was for certain that everything gambled on stopping her here and now. So this was a battle she needed to win.

"Why are you here?" questioned Kaede as she began moving forward.

"Simple, I was just staying here" answered Lucy as she began to ascend as well.

"Did you kill all those people?" she then asked referring to the mysterious deaths around Karakura and as of last week the mother of one of her classmates.

Lucy smirked at this. "I do need something to do when I get bored, and besides there's nothing wrong with killing a few trashy humans I find along the way".

Kaede found this girl to be rather disgusting. She never believed anyone could act so callously towards others. But this person absolutely had no respect for life. Not only was she responsible for all the unnecessary deaths in the city but also the deaths of all those families in Yokohama.

"You're going to pay for what you did!" she called as her vectors began to appear

"Big words for a weakling like you!" Lucy sneered.

At that the two charged each other as they launched their vectors against one another. As their psychic attacks collided sparks flew as if metal was being clashed against each other. Kaede and Lucy were now hand in hand as well as their vectors. The pair then broke off as they began to swing attacks against each other while dancing around the other. However their vector powers were equal which neither could deny. So the two began lifting any nearby objects they could find and began chucking them at each other. Kaede began lifting up shelves as she threw them as hard as she could while her opponent used the corpses around her as a counter. Once again it seemed to be a draw. But Kaede then got unlucky as she wasn't able to counter a corpse that was flung at her. As the body landed on her she began to panic at seeing the scared face the officer had before he died. She then looked back to see Lucy approach her.

Kaede struggled to get the body off as her fear was keeping her vectors from doing the task. As Lucy came closer she seemed to be having a good time as the bodies she walked by started getting cut up as well. The horned girl began to struggle harder, but the closer she came the more her fear paralyzed her from doing something. "_Am I going to die?_"

"Get away from Kaede-san!" The two dicloniuses looked to see a middle school brunette standing there as she shook fighting to be brave for her friend.

"What are you doing? Get out of there Aiko!" Kaede cried out.

But it was too late as the girl was pinned to the wall with a vector closing in on her throat. "What an amusing insect you are" said Lucy. Aiko struggled to breath as the invisible hand started to close tighter around her wind pipe. The brunette began to cry at the prospect of her life ending in such a way.

"Stop it!" screamed Kaede. She then looked to her side to see a police issue phosphorus grenade just right outside her reach. She struggled to reach it, but her friends wheezing and crying made it difficult to concentrate. She was running out of time as Aiko's body was now reduced to twitching as she could no longer fight anymore. "Please god damn it! I don't want it to end like this!" to which the grenade then rolled close enough to her to reach. As she popped the pin she threw it to her opponent's feet without her notice as it exploded in a giant flash of light.

The blast managed to stun Lucy enough to allow Aiko to go free as she began breathing again. Kaede took this time to concentrate and force the body off of her. As she got up Lucy was standing there looking quite pissed at her.

"You definitely need to die now" she said as she began to charge forward.

Kaede seeing the advance charged forward as well concentrating all her power into a vocal point hoping to blast Lucy away. This was all or nothing since she could hear police closing in on their position. So it was necessary now to win and escape as soon as they could. At that resolve, she ran in with her war cry as her powers collided with Lucy's at full force. As a result a huge explosion occurred as this blew out all the floors above them including the roof and still continued into the sky. As the dust settled the winner of that clash was decided as she held her enemy by the throat.

"You lose" said Lucy a she began applying pressure planning to break her neck.

Kaede was losing consciousness as she was losing air. As she resolved herself to die a lucky chance found its way towards her.

"Ahhh!" screamed Lucy as she felt a stinging sensation all over her body. She promptly turned her head to see the brunette to her back with a taser. She then flung her arm back which knocked Aiko away.

However this was the chance Kaede needed. Due to the electric shock it weakened Lucy enough for her to escape. In that one turn around she wrapped her vector around her fist as she swung as hard as she could right into her adversaries face and then followed up with an uppercut to the gut. Of course Lucy shielded herself, but due to her weakened state she couldn't block all of it. In the end she was knocked out as Kaede was still standing while breathing heavily.

"I did it, I won" said Kaede. Unfortunately she was too exhausted to move and the police had already arrived at their position.

"We have to go now" said Aiko as she supported her by the shoulder and moved them both to a place where they could hide for the time being.

As they hid they watched from their area as two men and many officers entered the scene.

The middle aged man gave off a whistle sound. "She really did a number on everyone here, but how do you think she got like this Kurama?"

The man with glasses looked around and expected the scene. "One of the officers probably managed to stun her with their grenade which caused the sound earlier. She was then most likely taken down by a taser as indicated by those marks on her back. But not before killing them in the process."

"I see, and that?" as he then pointed to the giant hole above them.

"The target most likely lost control during the attack. But it doesn't really matter. We have her now. Take her away" to which several of the officers applied their restraint tools as they carried the unconscious body of Lucy out with them.

"But how are we going to explain this Kurama?" asked the man

"Simple Kakuzawa, I already have a cover story ready. Now let's get going before thing get too hectic" to which he agreed.

Kaede and Aiko watched silently as it all happened. As more police and paramedics came and went from the scene, the two decided to take advantage of the confusion and sneak out.

"We're almost there" Kaede whispered to which her brunette companion nodded.

The pair quietly made their way to the entrance attempting to blend in with the scenery.

"Hey! Who are you? Identify yourself!" shouted an officer.

"Run!"

The two girls quickly made a break for the entrance only to be stopped as they had a head on collision with some lady who appeared in their path. As they both fell, the pair was immediately apprehended by the surrounding officers.

"We have two suspicious individuals" said officer one.

"There appearances matches those of the earlier murder, let's bring them in" said officer two.

"Let go!" struggled Kaede

Aiko began to tear up at the thought of what was going to happen to them.

"Ah, hold on. Those two are with me".

The girls looked to see the woman they bumped into recently stand before them now.

"Excuse me?" said officer two.

"They were with me when I came here" said the woman as she pulled out something from her pocket. "As you can see I was supposed to be the curator of the art exhibit taking place tomorrow. These two girls who were worried about the paintings rushed in to see if everything was OK".

The officer looked over the documentation and quickly confirmed it was the truth not to mention the culprit (_Lucy_) was already captured. "I'm sorry for the mishap. Alright let them go" to which both Kaede and Aiko were released as they slowly followed the woman some distance away from the area.

After a few blocks of walking, "Umm, why did you help us?" asked Aiko

Kaede was immediately on guard if the woman tried anything funny.

The woman still continued to show her back to them. "Are you . . . . are you Aiko?"

"Ehh! How do you know my name?" stammered the brunette.

But without warning the woman abruptly turned around and embraced the girl in a hug

"Ehh?"

"I've been waiting so long to meet you" said the woman as tears began to form. "I'm so sorry for leaving you alone for so long".

The words slowly sank in as Aiko computed what this meant. The woman's appearance, scent, who she was, and her current statement generated a storm of thoughts in her mind. But slowly it began to dawn on her as fresh new tears began to form, "mother?"

The woman nodded as she maintained her hold.

Aiko's face began to scrunch as more tears began to fall. She then hugged the woman back. "I've been waiting so long to meet you mother!"

Kaede smiled at the scene before her. It was nice that everything worked out for her. As the two broke their embrace the brunette handed her mother her gift to which the woman happily took and praised. The pink diclonius in time would come to learn that Aiko would be cleared of all charges for her father's death on the account of an accident. But even if it did escalate to murder it would be placed on a self-defense charge by account of the neighbors having knowledge of her daily beatings. Of course Mrs. Takada would be sad about what happened. However she wouldn't really be able to say much since she was the one responsible for everything till then. But luckily the two would quickly patch up their difference and live together from that day on. At this time they were just happy to finally meet each other.

"Will we be able to meet again?" asked Aiko

Kaede nodded, "Well meet again, here is my email address" as she wrote it down.

"If you still want me as a model I'll be more than happy to do it" she chuckled.

"Sure" smiled the brunette. "I'll see you later then" as she then ran off and walked with her mother hand in hand to mostly likely the elder woman's temporary residence.

Kaede waved them off as they soon disappeared from sight. After a while she then decided to walk home. During this time she processed everything that had happened within the last twenty-four hours. "_What a crazy day_". But at least Lucy was no longer a threat to anyone and now she understood what she needed to do with her life. Kaede then immediately ran home.

"_I have to see Nyu! I have to tell her how I feel!_" as she began to run harder.

"_I need to tell her how sorry I am for not keeping my promise!_"

"Oneesan!"

Kaede came to a halt as she turned her head to see her sister looking sadly at her. Nyu most likely left the house to look for her when she didn't come back at her usual time.

"I was so worried about you oneesan" sniffled Nyu. "When you didn't come back I was so worried that something happened to you, and if you were gone . . . . then I . . . . then I . . . ." However she wasn't able to finish as she found herself in a tight embrace. "Ehh?"

"I'm sorry . . . . I'm so sorry for leaving you alone like that" said Kaede in almost a whisper. Her eyes then clamped shut. "I promised mother that I would always protect and watch over you, and that is what I attend to do from now on".

"Oneesan . . . ." as tears began to form in the ditzy girl's eyes. She then hugged her sister back happy to see she was her old self again.

The two held each other as they cried softly. But soon the two recovered as they realized that it was getting late.

"Let's go home now Nyu" to which the girl smiled as she nodded.

The twins walked home smiling. Although the sadness and loss was still there, the burden felt significantly less as the twins shared the weight with each other. Since all they had were each other, that would have to be enough for just the two of them.

"Hey isn't that . . . ." said Kaede as she and Nyu spotted a familiar older man accompanied with two of his children in front of their house.

"Yeah that's . . . ." said Nyu

"Kaede-san! Nyu-san!" called Kohta as he ran up to them and hugged them both. "I'm so sorry I couldn't come sooner. After seeing it in the newspaper . . . . why didn't you tell me?" as the boy began to sob.

The Hikaru twins were surprised at his actions. But soon began to cry in joy. Maybe it didn't just have to be the two of them that handled the burden. With good friends like Kohta for support it really did mean a whole lot that people like him did care for them.

The girls then hugged him back.

"Thank you Kohta" said Kaede.

"For always caring" said Nyu.

"And for always being there to comfort us when we needed it" they both said in unison.

Kohta gave a slight blush and then smiled, "you're welcome".

They then went into the house as they settled in for the day. Whatever life may throw at them the twins knew they could always depend on each other. With a new revelation, they could also depend on the people around them who shared that special place in their hearts.

"_Thank you Aiko for helping me see that_"

To be continued . . . .

* * *

Author's notes: I hope this chapter was a good read, and I also apologize if the last chapter was a letdown. But I hope this makes up for it. In addition, it is true Kaede wouldn't have chosen Nyu if this were her last life. Don't worry this topic is something I'll circle back to since it'll be significant to a later part of the story.

Now for those who read the manga, chapter 85 was more or less how Aiko and Kaede first met. But if you did indeed read the manga, this is the same chapter where Aiko was fatally injured. But in the final chapter you'll see her quite alive and well in the form of a poster of her art opening. Consequently Kaede gets captured in this chapter. So now with the future changed once again it now leads towards an uncertain tomorrow for her and her friends.

In addition with Lucy getting captured could this really be a good thing? There are still some questions that have not been asked yet. However you then must ask if they are questions you want to know the answers too.

On another note, I'm curious if anyone wants Aiko to return and possibly live in the Maple inn with the main cast where the canon story begins. Originally I wasn't going to have her back, but after some thought I don't want to disregard her either. So what do you, the audience think?

So I thank you for your time in reading this fic and further extend my gratitude if you can review it as well.


	17. Renewal

Chapter 17: Renewal

Synopsis: Starting over can be difficult for anyone. But maybe a fresh start is what's needed to wash away the past to make room for the future. However, a new lease on life also means starting at zero. With no friends or past to return too, how will an individual fare in this new existence?

In this new life Kaede and Nyu will face elements both new and old upon arrival. But with nothing to stand on and forced to rebuild, can they persevere after such a loss?

Reminder: I do not own Elfen Lied or any characters associated with it

"talking"

_thoughts_

_

* * *

_

Kaede looked out the train window stoically as she and her sister were being transferred to their new living arrangements. Right after packing their things and saying their good-byes they were off to their destination.

She sighed deeply as she recalled the memory.

It was really nice of Kohta and his family to comfort them, but unfortunately that was all they could do. They didn't have the ability or the capacity to take them back to Hokkaido and support them properly. However another arrangement was made in their stead.

"How do you feel?" smiled Yuka, "are you OK with everything?"

"Yeah fine" Kaede responded.

It seemed Yuka's family was able to take them in and care for them properly without too much trouble. Now the thing was she didn't dislike her. However she didn't really have the right words to describe what she thought of the brunette.

"So we're family now?" asked Nyu curiously.

"I suppose so" replied the brunette.

"I'm sorry if we're imposing on you" she then said anxiously.

"Don't be silly, we're good friends and it doesn't bother me much to have you live with me" smiled Yuka.

" _. . . . friends huh?_". She did consider her a friend at least. But she was still bothered by a few of her personality quirks. However those quirks had very little to do with their relationship, but more so with another matter concerning a certain tanned boy. That was something not so important to her . . . . for the moment.

The train soon arrived in Yokohama where she and Nyu would begin their new lives. Although this change wasn't exactly something she desired. She was at least grateful towards a few things. One of them was that they were allowed to keep their last name. It was one of the few things they had left of their mother. The name Hikaru was her maiden name before she got with 'that man'.

Another thing that Kaede was at least grateful for was being taken in by someone who knew them. If left up to the adoption agency they would probably be stuck there until they were old enough to leave, and knowing how bitter orphaned children could get, that was something she didn't want Nyu to ever experience.

After unloading all their things and boarding a waiting van they were soon off towards their home.

"So we're . . . . going to your house?" Kaede asked.

"Oh! That's right you two have never been to my place have you?" replied Yuka. "Well you'll see for yourselves. I hope you like it".

A little while in they entered a residential area to which they soon stopped in front a very cozy looking two story house. It was nothing extravagant, and if she had to compare it was quite similar to her old home. However for the next few days it'll be the test to see if they could truly start over.

The group started filtering in as they were assigned their room. Now their new living quarters was the former guest room. It was quite spacious. Of course they didn't have the option of separate rooms due to a limited area. However that didn't really matter since they were always together. So sharing a room wasn't a real big deal to them.

But there was only one concern Kaede had. That was something she was going to patiently wait and see if anything would occur.

"Yuka-chan! Your friend is here!" called the brunette's mother.

"OK okaasan!" Yuka called back. The girl then looked back to the twin dicloniuses as they were still in the middle of unpacking. "We're going to start school tomorrow. So why don't I show you around the place when you're done".

"OK" smiled Nyu to which Kaede simply nodded.

After storing their possessions, the trio then walked down the stairs to see the girl that entered the house moments ago.

"Sempai!" the long haired girl called as she shot up from the couch and ran to her.

"Ah, Nozomi-chan! Have you come over to practice again?" smiled Yuka

"Yes . . . ." she responded shyly. The girl then looked up to see two pairs of crimson eyes looking at her. "Uh sempai, who are they?"

Yuka gave a slight chuckle, "oh where are my manners. Due to . . . . certain circumstances they will be living here from now on".

"I see" Nozomi then looked to the twins before going into a bow. "It's nice to meet you".

"Yes! Really nice to meet you too" replied Nyu as she too did a slight bow.

"Ditto" Kaede answered plainly. "_. . . . am I going crazy?_"

As of late, she seemed to have been running into a lot of nostalgic meetings with strangers she somehow already knew. Kaede was beginning to wonder if this had something to do with her powers. But that was stupid since all she could do was telekinesis, and she was pretty certain she had no ability like precognition. So how was it that she knew these strangers before they even met?

However as a consolation, she definitely knew she met Nozomi somewhere before. But she just couldn't quite put her finger on when or where.

"I'll be back, so you can use my room to practice if you like" smiled Yuka.

"OK" smiled Nozomi. "Well it was nice meeting you" as she waved to the sisters.

Nyu waved back while her twin maintained her nonchalant attitude.

The trio was soon out the door as they began their trip to school.

Surprisingly it was a rather easy walk, and on the way there a small conversation began to form.

"I hope I'm not bothering you with all my ranting" she said embarrassed.

Kaede shook her head slightly, "no, it's fine".

"A cheerful Yuka-chan is best" smiled Nyu.

"Thanks" replied the brunette.

"Hey is that Yuka?"

The trio looked to see four other girls walking in the area. They then waved to them and ran over.

"Oh, hello" answered Yuka. "What are you doing here?"

"We were just walking around" replied the girl.

"Oh! Nyu-chan, Kaede-san, these are some classmates from school" said Yuka as she stepped aside for them to get a better look.

"Hello" smiled Nyu.

"Greetings" stoically responded Kaede.

"Hey do you want to join us for a while? We wouldn't mind the extra company".

Yuka waved her hands, "I'm sorry, but we can't right now. I'm currently touring them around since they're coming to the school tomorrow".

"That's alright then, who knows this school better than us".

Before they could protest they were immediately taken away. Although they did get a brief look at the school they immediately left as they were being pushed towards the downtown area.

"So are you like foreigners or something?" asked one of the girls.

"What do you mean?" replied Kaede.

"Well your hair color isn't normal for Japanese. So are you like a half or something?"

"It's complicated" was all that could really be said. In truth neither of the sisters knew. That 'man' was definitely Japanese, and their mother . . . . well their mother was a mystery. She was Japanese, but she wasn't exactly normal herself. So in other words . . . . who really knew.

"Well your hair is really beautiful" said one of the girls.

"Thank you" smiled the ditzy diclonius. "Ehhh?"

Nyu lost her balance as she was about to land face first onto the pavement. However Yuka managed to grab a hold of her before she was out of reach. "Are you OK?"

The girl nodded as she regained her footing.

"See everything is fine" said one of the girls enthusiastically. "So let's press on to the next destination".

But as they walked a certain concerned sister watched the little 'accident' that had just occurred in front of her. Kaede felt a slight suspicion about it.

"Who are they exactly?" she whispered as soon as she managed to isolate Yuka from the rest of the group.

"I guess in a way you could say that they would be the popular girls of our school" whispered Yuka.

"Popular?"

"Well by the schools social circles these four have a rather high reputation with pretty much everyone. However these people . . . ."

"What is it?"

"Some pretty strange rumors surround those four and they aren't exactly that flattering because . . . ."

Kaede nodded as the brunette told her of the mysterious events that surrounded them. Indeed it was none too flattering.

"Then why are they popular?" asked Kaede

Yuka shrugged to this as she didn't really know either. However she did have her speculations about the source of their influence which stemmed from either their connections or resources. But other than that, it was purely just what she thought.

"_I better keep an eye on them_"

The group of girls soon arrived in the downtown area where they began their window shopping. They soon entered a clothing store where they started trying on different styles.

"Hey this looks really cute" said one of girls. "Why don't you try it on" as she handed it to Nyu.

The horned girl chirped in agreement as she ran off to the changing only to momentarily return in the outfit. "What do you think?" she smiled.

"It looks good". She then looked at her watch and then made a motion to her other friends. "We better leave soon so why don't you get changed".

"OK" replied Nyu as she ran back to the changing area.

"Is everything set?"

"Yeah, we took her cloths and we'll soon take her current ones"

The girl then looked to her other friend. "Do you have the camera ready?"

She nodded, "This is going to be great. We're going to have a laugh out of this".

"But don't you think it was pretty cruel to what happened to that Hitomi girl?"

They then gave a vicious laugh to this. "Nah, she had it coming. After getting her pictures displayed all over school that'd show her to never talk back to us".

"And besides, it's been a while since we had a good laugh right?"

The four snickered as they closed in on the unsuspecting girl. At seeing the cloths drop inside the cubicle, they immediately grabbed it as they took pictures once the door was forced opened.

Nyu looked to them quizzically. "Is there something wrong?" The ditzy girl then looked to see one them holding the dress she was just wearing. "Oh, that's nice of you. I was going to put it back. But thank you for helping. You're so nice".

"Uh, yeah" the girl stuttered.

Some distance away from the target's hearing range.

"I thought you took her cloths!" she whispered.

"I did! They should be over there!"

The girls examined the area to see that they were clearly not there anymore. They then looked over to see Yuka and Kaede still talking with one another as they seemed oblivious of the situation.

"You don't think they did something, do you?"

The girl shook her head. "Doesn't seem likely, but it doesn't matter either. If they interfere we can make an example of them".

They nodded in agreement as the group was soon off to their next destination. However as they passed from area to area, the four girls were relentless in their act of attempting to cruelly prank Nyu. But each time ended in naught; mysteriously the pink haired girl would walk through each trap without it going off. But eventually they arrived at the food court where they all decided to take a break. The four girls sat at the table while the other three went to make their order.

"What is going on? Why aren't any of our tricks working?"

"I don't know there's been something weird going on. I just don't know how to explain it".

During a few of their pranks, items or objects that were supposed to be in certain places were either moved or missing. At first they suspected Kaede or Yuka had something to do about it. But it was immediately dismissed as they seemed not to know what was going on and not to mention they were a good distance away which made it impossible for them to disarm any of their traps.

"It's your fault! Why can't you do the pranks like we planned?"

"I did follow what you said. I can't explain it either on what's going on".

"Fine! We'll do this the direct way". She then looked around to see a piece of dog crap on the ground. A malicious smile then appeared on her face. The girl then took Nyu's drink and passed it to her underling. "Go put that dog shit in her drink" she ordered.

The other girl flinched at the order since it was rather disgusting of what was being asked of her. However she immediately complied as she placed the feces in the cup and placed it in its original position. It was then that Kaede, Nyu, and Yuka returned back to the table.

"Today was a real fun day today" smiled Nyu as she reflected on everything that happened. The ditzy girl then looked to the others. "You were so nice to me today. I hope we can be friends at school".

"I hope so too" the lead female snickered. "You must be thirsty after all that walking. Why don't you have a drink?"

Nyu nodded as she picked up her beverage and was about to take a zip.

The four girls looked in anticipation waiting to see her reaction as she took a swig of her shit drink. However, their attack was stopped once more as her sister reached out to grab the cup before Nyu could wrap her lips around the straw.

"Nyu, this straw looks rather dirty. Why don't you get another one?" said Kaede sweetly.

"Is it really?" as she looked to the utensil with a pout. "If you say so oneesan" she then smiled as she got up and left for another one. But the moment she was gone the pink diclonius looked back to stare daggers at the four bitches across from her.

"I've had enough of this" as she abruptly stood up causing them the flinch.

"What are you talking about?" the leader said trying to sound as innocent as possible.

"I've heard what kind of people you are" said Kaede as her eyes narrowed slightly. "You're the kind who gets their kicks from tormenting others just for your own personal amusement. But arrogance and narcissism should only go so far and garbage like you ought to be shown their place".

The leader's eyes then slanted in annoyance. "I don't know where you get off telling us such things without any proof let alone to someone you don't even know".

"We've been watching you" said Yuka sternly. "What you've been trying to do to Nyu-chan was downright cruel. She never did anything to you".

The girl scoffed at this. Since the cat was out of the bag there was little point for pretense. "Why do we need a reason? We're the popular kids. So amongst our peers our word is law. Since my daddy is the principal of the school you'll be attending then everyone has to treat me better".

Yuka looked to her dumbfounded that these were the true colors of their personality and character. "Do you even know what you're saying?"

The girl then laughed followed by the rest of her friends. "Who cares! I can do whatever I want so long as I have my status". She then looked to both Kaede and Yuka with a grin. "So you can either be my enemy or my pet, either way is fine with me".

"How about neither" as Kaede threw Nyu's drink at her. Upon impact the drink which became mixed with the feces splattered all over her as it was one big disgusting brown splotch on her shirt and skirt.

She immediately gave a screech to which her friends immediately backed away from the mess. The girl then looked back and forth to see that some amused spectators were watching as her yelp attracted their attention. Additionally some even laughed at happened to her as they pointed. Her face then contorted into anger. "You're going to pay for this" as she reached for her phone only to not find it there.

"Looking for this" grinned Kaede as she pulled out her phone which she pilfered during one of their pranks. She then activated its camera function, took a picture, and then began typing furiously on the keypad.

"What are you doing?" she shrieked.

"Getting an insurance policy" as she tossed her phone back at her. "I've already uploaded that picture to my computer and it won't take much to send it to everyone in school".

She then looked wide eyed at the threat. "You can't black mail me? My father won't stand for this!" she stuttered as she attempted to recompose her authority over the situation.

"You could tell the principal if you want. But that'll only trouble me for a while to which I can easily ruin your entire life" Kaede said darkly. "I can easily ruin it in more ways than one" to which four of her vectors began to hang above her as blood lust reflected in her eyes.

For the first time in that girls life she knew what it meant to be afraid as now someone else was holding the strings to her fate. "You'll regret this!" as she stood up along with her friends and ran off.

"Did something happen? Why are they running away?"

Kaede and Yuka turned to see Nyu look to them curiously to what was going on as she had just returned to the table.

"Oh, they had some other things to attend too. It was something about getting rid of some crap they had to do today" mischievously grinned Kaede to which Yuka chuckled as it loosened the tension which hung in the air. Nyu looked curiously to what was so funny.

"Why don't we return now?"

"But what happened to my drink" said Nyu tearfully.

"I'll buy you a new one" she sighed.

* * *

Now in the late afternoon the three girls walked home with Nyu taking point as she hummed happily while displaying the goofy smile she always did. Meanwhile Kaede and Yuka hung back behind her.

"You know Kaede-san, ever since I've known you, you've always had a strange sense of humor about you" as the brunette recalled every prank and sarcastic statement the horned girl ever made.

Kaede gave a slight chuckle. "Well that is just how I am" she smirked fondly. Silence then settled in for a while as they continued their walk. But she then let out a sigh as an exhausted expression appeared on her face.

"It is rather tiring" as she folded her arms behind her head. Yuka then looked to her for clarification. "But I guess it takes all kinds of people to make a world".

"But Kaede-san, making enemies before you even started school can prove to be conducive to your health" said Yuka worriedly.

"It doesn't matter" she then answered stoically.

"But what if they find out your secret?" as her eyes became fixated on her companions beanie covered horns.

Kaede scoffed at this, "it doesn't really matter either. However I do have my concerns about it". Her eyes then narrowed slightly. After that incident in the mall concerning what those men talked about as they hauled Lucy away, it definitely concerned her. Why were they after her? What was so important that they would sacrifice so many lives for it? What was the meaning to it all? She then shook her head in annoyance. She was nowhere near as knowledgeable or clever enough to figure out something so complicated. But it was clear that discretion would be there greatest ally now. So it was definitely in her and Nyu's best interest to keep on the down low as much as possible.

The pink diclonius then turned to face Yuka with a smile. "Thank you . . . ."

"For what?" she asked.

"For always helping watch over my dimwitted sister" Kaede smiled.

Yuka gave a strained chuckle to this. "I don't think it's nice to call Nyu-san that".

"I'm only saying what's true".

The brunette chuckled again as they both caught up to the aforementioned girl as they all soon raced back home.

* * *

"How was the tour?" asked Yuka mother as the trio entered the house.

"It was . . . . eventful" was the only way she could describe it.

"I really have to go!" interrupted Nyu as she began dancing around the floor trying to keep it in.

"I told you not to drink so much" stated Kaede as she felt no sympathy for her plight.

"The bathroom is up the stairs on the door to your right" to which the panicking girl immediately disappeared as she ran off to which momentarily a door slam was heard.

The three gave an awkward chuckle to this.

Yuka then turned back to talk to her mother which left Kaede to her own musing. As she stood there, she was curious if this new life would really work out. Even though she told her benefactor that she didn't care, making enemies out of people from school wasn't exactly an ideal grand entrance on the first day. Especially when you're current goal is trying to keep unnoticed. But either way she looked at it she was most likely going to bump heads with people like them sooner or later. Her current lifestyle always seemed to demand drama and controversy. Besides she wasn't the type of person to take things lying down let alone being a spectator to one.

"_Well I guess it could be worse_" without the blackmail pictures they would definitely be targets for day to day trouble as they were immediately attacked without provocation. Kaede then let out a sigh. "_I guess I'm going to be really busy_" for it took a lot of work to make a safe and comfortable place that she and Nyu could go too. But speaking of nostalgia, how did she know that Nozomi girl?

"Kyaaaaaaaa!"

Everyone's eyes popped open in shock at the horrid screech.

"That was Nozomi-chan!" exclaimed Yuka. The brunette then went into a dash as she ran up the stairs followed by Kaede. Upon arriving to the room they immediately busted in the door expecting to find a girl in despair. But what they found completely left them dumbfounded.

Yuka gaped at the strange sight in front of her.

Kaede face smacked herself at what just happened.

"Help me" pleaded the fragile girl as she was completely pinned to the ground by her pink attacker.

"Nyu-chan! What are you doing?" said Yuka after regaining her wits.

Nyu simply looked up innocently as she felt she did nothing wrong. "I wanted to see how big they were".

Kaede then grabbed her shirt by the back collar and immediately proceeded to drag her away. "You really got to stop that. People are going to think you're a pervert or something".

The ditzy girl then pressed both her index fingers together as she gave an awkward smile. "I was just curious".

The horned girl gave a sigh to the typical answer. "Well anyways after she recovers make sure to apologize".

* * *

Now beginning her junior high life in Yokohama wasn't quite as bad as she believed. However it still had its ups and downs.

First off, Yuka's mother forced her to wear a girl's uniform even at her protest. But as the phrase goes, 'a dog should never bite the hands that feeds it' to which the argument was a lost cause.

Another problem occurred which concerned someone how had already made themselves known to her. Even though she had dirt on the principal's brat it didn't stop her from attacking her from different angles such as sending her own underlings. Of course she didn't have proof it was her, but it seemed pretty obvious since they were getting so much 'loving' attention in their first week there. But to be fair their attacks didn't really mean much as direct confrontations proved to be pointless when your enemy has the ability to flick your head right off your shoulders by simply thinking it. Besides sending the blackmail photo out was a bit too low for her standards even if she did deserve it.

But on the bright side, they were getting pretty positive reception from the schoolmates around them. In comparison, it was getting pretty close to how their lives used to be in their old middle school but more moderate to how Kaede preferred it.

"_But this crap has got to stop_" for having to deal with pests from a day to day basis can be rather tiring. Not to mention that 'girl' must be getting overconfident. Since she hadn't used the picture against her yet, the brat was most likely thinking she was either bluffing or didn't have them.

But seeing she wasn't the kind of person to do something so underhanded she had to undergo a different strategy to stop this nonsense once and for all. "_When you want to knock someone down then you have to kick their legs out from right under them_".

* * *

When one is faced against an army there are three steps to attacking them smartly while losing the least amount of time and resources. The first step was cutting off the enemies' supply which meant getting rid of the current principal. This step required the most precision and planning, but was one of the most amusing parts of what she had planned.

"What was that?" exclaimed the principal to see nothing there in his office.

A pink haired figured snickered from outside his office. During the past week she had been tormenting the man with the prospect of a curse being laid on him. Thankfully Yuka and some other students who were tired of the tyranny did some information gathering to learn that the principal was a very superstitious man who made this part of the job so easy and funny.

"Stay Away!" he commanded as he started putting up wards in his office followed with splashing himself with salt.

The next moment all the drawers and cabinet doors began to open and shut wildly as paper went flying all over the room.

"AHHHHHH!"

Kaede snickered again as she left for the day.

"How did it go?" asked Yuka

The pink diclonius responded with a thumb up as she and the brunette walked home for the day.

"I'm surprised Kaede-san that you managed to get so much mobilized in such a short time".

"As the saying goes 'the enemy of my enemy is my friend', and you wouldn't imagine how many people would go off on the chance to bring down a stuck up brat like her a peg or two".

* * *

With a little anonymous . . . . 'tipping', the principal was soon removed under the guise of having a mental breakdown to which he would be under surveillance for an unknown amount of time. Now with phase one accomplished it was time to go on to the second phase.

Now the second part of attacking an army smartly is after taking away their resources you then begin to focus on their moral and human capital which meant in lamest school terms divide and conquer her friends individually.

Kaede managed to rally some other students to divide her party up.

In attacking individuals there exist three targets; the mind, the body, or the heart. Now hitting the first two targets would be something that could be rather scarring and would leave a bad taste in people's mouths. So attacking the heart was the only option. Now in doing so their aim specifically was to weaken their friendship which would make it easier to terminate them individually.

"So that it huh? Alright thanks for the info" said Kaede

The girl nodded as she ran off.

"What are you going to do with this information?" asked Yuka worriedly. "You're not going to do something horrible are you?"

"You'll see" she responded darkly.

Now of course Kaede didn't have anything nefarious planned as she wasn't going to use the data to hurt them. Using people's weaknesses as leverage is never something someone should do to get what they want. So instead her plan involved something a bit more intricate.

One of the underlings of that 'brat' was soon bawling as Kaede and her brunette companion confronted her about her weakness.

"Why? Oh why?" she cried out trying to control herself.

"Shh shh shh" said Kaede soothingly. "It's OK, you don't have to cry about it". An awkward expression then appeared as she tried to comfort the underling.

"And it's perfectly natural for some girls to like those kinds of things" said Yuka awkwardly.

"But . . . . but . . . . no one was suppose to know about my obsession for yaoi! What am I going to do?"

"It's OK, I know a few girls who likes those kinds of manga. Why don't I introduce you?" the horned girl offered.

"But people will say how strange I am!"

"You shouldn't worry about those kinds of things" said Yuka. "It'll be alright, you'll see".

It was incredible in itself to get someone to immediately open up to you. But it was extraordinary to form an instant bond with them. Using the data on every one of her underlings, her plan was to forge alternative bonds which would tether them away weakening the bonds which kept them to their leader. It seemed that brat was using each of their weaknesses to anchor them to herself making her feel more superior. However there was more to it then what could be initially seen.

* * *

After completing the first two phases the final phase was the direct attack in which both players would deal their hands and whoever was stronger would win. But in this case Kaede knew she had the stronger hand and victory was only a breath away. Things were going to be settled in the following school day.

The brats face scrunched in anger at everything that had been going on the past month. Her father was removed as principal, her 'friends' were no longer around, people were starting to stand up to her, and now she found herself completely cornered like a mouse. The current time now was after school in an undisclosed place with many students who had been hurt by her. The person who was leading them was none other than the pink diclonius herself.

"It's over now" said Kaede. "You should give up".

Angry statements were made behind her by outraged students who had been living in fear of her influence.

"That's what you get you bitch!"

"You deserve everything that's coming at you!"

"After what happened to Hitomi I hope god has mercy on you because none of us will!"

The girl shook in both anger and fear from being backed into the corner. She had no idea what they were going to do to her. Without her father to back neither her nor the use of her friends as shields or scapegoats, evading this situation was right next to impossible.

"How dare you do this to me? How dare you bring me down to your level!"

Another violent outcry was made at that statement which stirred the masses. Her remark easily wore down the angry crowd's patience as some of them were itching to get a piece of her. Yuka watched worriedly as the mass was getting irritated. With one spark, it can ignite a fire which will burn everyone in a way that no one will ever forget. "_Maybe this was a bad idea_".

Just like that a spark was about to occur as an angry student picked up a rock and was about to launch it. As the object flew in the air it was immediately stopped as Kaede caught it before it got past her.

"No one will be using violence here. It that understood!" said Kaede sternly. She looked back with menacing eyes which scared a good majority of them.

"But you were the one who set this up Kaede-san. Wasn't the whole point just to make her pay?"

The pink diclonius looked straight again as her face became neutral. "That wasn't the point. Well not entirely. Just removing her power was good enough and I'm satisfied with her being in her current state".

"Then what about us and all that we suffered!"

"Who cares about you! None of you will ever understand what was taken from me! None of you!" said the cornered girl. "Why is it that everyone is always against me? Why do people always want a piece of me?"

Kaede's eyes then widened slightly in surprise. "_So that's it huh . . . ._"

"You'll never understand . . . ."

She then flinched as the leader of the pack started to advance on her. It was uncertain of what her motives were. Even though she stated non-violence she probably could have changed her mind.

"Stay away from me!" as she fell to the ground attempting to scoot away. But she soon found no more room as her back was now to the wall.

Murmurs were then heard as the crowd was excitingly anticipating what Kaede was going to do to her. Much speculated it wasn't going to be pretty. The first week she was there the pink diclonius proved she was more than capable of fighting as she had every person who went up against her on their knees. It was a possibility that she was going to return the favor.

"_What am I going to do?_" as fear began to appear on her.

The crowd watched with excitement of seeing a beating about to occur. However everyone was then surprised at what happened next.

"_What?_" the quivering girl was equally as surprised and confused at what was going on. It seemed at this point in time she was being enveloped in a hug by her sworn pink enemy. "What are you doing?"

"You can stop it now. There's no reason to fight anymore" said Kaede. "You've already shown everyone your strength. So you can stop now".

The girl became agitated at that response as she began to struggle within the hold. "What do you know? How would you know how I feel?"

"No one ever wants to appear vulnerable in front of anyone. So we all try to confront this enemy the best we can. But you have to stop now. This anger must be put to rest".

"Then what am I supposed to do?" she exclaimed. "Everyone . . . . Everyone is your enemy unless you control them! People are only interested in you to fill out their own needs! That's the only reason why people ever want to be close to others!"

Kaede's face then became solemn as she parted from the girl. "We all have our bad times when it comes to people, but you should have more faith in them. I mean sure some can be real jerks when it comes down to it. But that shouldn't be a reason to attack others like that".

"That's a lie! And besides it's already too late to go back now!"

The pink diclonius sighed at the response. "Then it's obvious what you have to do now".

" . . . . "

"Just apologize for everything you did. Even if they don't forgive you, you keep on trying until they do".

The girl scoffed at this. "I can't believe you just said that. You actually believe that garbage?"

"As I said have more faith in the human spirit".

The girl scoffed again at the ridiculous notion. However she decided to humor her dumb ideal and attempted to apologize. Obviously the crowd did not forgive her for all the misery she caused. But they weren't aggravated either. Some people were silently withholding their anger while others felt sympathy for their abuser. But after all she was only human.

Kaede watched as the crowd parted to allow the girl to leave.

"It went a lot better than I expected" said Yuka.

"We all have our pain and we all learn to deal with it the best we can. But at this point starting over is all she can do. So this outcome was the best for everyone".

"I hope so".

As the two watched her leave they would come to learn that she was taken advantage of because of her position and resources. Due to that revelation, she in turn became bitter towards anyone who tried to be her friend. Although her method to cover her vulnerability was wrong you can't exactly blame her either. She was betrayed by the people she thought she could trust.

Of course at this point onward it would be an uphill battle to gain their trust again. However she was a strong girl and she wasn't willing to give up. At times when she did lose her way, the friends she manipulated still stood by her to guide her back towards the better path. Eventually she was able to gain her fellow students trust and respect back as she turned former enemies into friends. Even in time Kaede would become one of her trusted friends. But that was a story for another time.

"We better go home now".

* * *

The duo walked home as they discussed the events of the day and how things were definitely going to quiet down for now on. However something caught Yuka's attention as it seemed another pink haired girl had been missing from their group for a while.

"I've been wondering this for a while but . . . . what happened to Nyu-chan?" asked Yuka

"I've been sending her to your home with that Nozomi girl each day since this plan started" said Kaede. "My dimwitted sister easily gets lonely. So I figured I could have your friend babysit her".

"Is that really OK?" as the brunette recalled the last time Nyu was left with the younger girl.

"It should be fine. I specifically instructed her not to do that kind of weird stuff anymore". The horned girl then let out a sigh. "I wish Nyu would get over the puberty thing already. It's getting troublesome trying to suppress the rumor of her bad habit".

Yuka gave a strained chuckle.

The pair soon arrived home as they settled in for the day. Nyu immediately ran down as she greeted them followed by Nozomi. Yuka's mother also gave them a warm greeting as she prepared tea and crackers for them.

The girls proceeded up as they went to Yuka's room to do the work they were assigned. After finishing they began conversing about girl topics and etc. But soon Yuka thought of something interesting.

"Hey Nozomi-chan! Why don't you sing for us?"

"Ehh? But I can't do that, it's too embarrassing . . . . and besides I'm not that good".

"But you're really good" chirped Nyu. "I really like hearing your voice everyday".

The petite girl blushed at the compliment. "But it's so embarrassing to sing in front of people".

The ditzy girl thought carefully about this until an idea came to mind. "Why don't I sing with you? You always seem relaxed when we sing together" Nyu smiled.

Nozomi seemed bashful at the compromise, but then reluctantly agreed to practice with her. Of course she stalled for a while but then after gaining enough courage the duo began their song. As they performed in front of them, the non-performers felt as if they were listening to something incredible.

Kaede and Yuka could swear that they had a voice of an angel. The two were easily captivated in the heavenly sound as Nozomi and Nyu seemed to be lost in their own world.

But then it hit her as something caught the pink diclonius attention. She immediately got up and sat right behind the petite girl to change her view. Upon her new perspective Kaede's face stretched out in surprise.

"Wait! I remember now! I remember where I've seen you!"

* * *

Author's notes: I managed to find one of the omakes which was in volume eight of the series and I was certainly surprised about what I found. Believe it or not Kaede/Nyu/Lucy had actually met Nozomi before in her youth. But it was more of an indirect encounter and it was before the time her powers manifested. So in this sense she met Nozomi before she met Kohta. Surprise right?

Also I realized something after thinking about it carefully. But is it just me or is almost every father figure in the Elfen Lied series a bunch of a**holes and jerks. The only one I see that are exempt from this are Kohta's father, Kohta (later in the series), and Bando (although he's a bit screwed up for his own reasons). It was just a thought anyways.

So I thank you for your time in reading this fic and further extend my gratitude if you can review it as well.


	18. 5th Summer

Chapter 18: 5th summer

Synopsis: Work, games, and love. That's what summer is all about. It is during these times that important transitions can occur from one point in your life to another. But to say it's good or bad is a matter of perspective. Generally it just means having a new pace in life to follow.

Reminder: I do not own Elfen Lied or any characters associated with it

"talking"

_thoughts_

_

* * *

_

Kaede walked calmly down the hallway till she saw a peculiar sight.

There in the spare room, Yuka's mother appeared to be preparing it. Although it wasn't really such an oddity that the elder woman liked to keep the place well maintained she seemed to be making a greater effort as of last week by preparing futons, cabinets, and other living essentials in the room.

"_Is someone moving in?_"

But it was not only this room but also Yuka's room that seemed to have been undergoing renovation.

"_Strange_"

However that wasn't very important as today was the day that her special friend would be coming again. At that time, she along with everyone else in her age group was preparing to jump on a bus to meet Kohta at the train station. Although a few things seemed off about her companions.

"Is there something wrong?" Kaede asked as she looked to her twin.

"Everything is fine oneesan" smiled Nyu, but not at her usual output of energy.

Her eyebrow picked up in reaction to the unusual behavior. "_What now?_" "Is there something troubling you?"

The ditzy girl immediately shook her head as a slight blush graced her cheeks.

Kaede's eyebrow picked up again. She then leaned in and felt her forehead. "Are you sick or something?"

Nyu shook her head. "No, I was just . . . . thinking about something".

"_That's new_" she thought. "Anyways we better hurry or we're going to miss Kohta's arrival. But speaking of which where did Yuka go?"

"There is still so much to do!"

The twins made their way to Yuka's room to see her in a frenzy moving things around.

"Is everything OK?"

The brunette looked up to see the twins looking bewildered at her actions. She then stopped what she was doing and made her way to them. "Yeah everything is fine. I just needed to set up a few things for the new living arrangements".

"New living arrangements?" asked Nyu.

"Oh that right! You don't know yet but we're going to have some new housemates soon. So we're quickly preparing the house for their arrival".

"Do we know them?" asked Kaede

"That's . . . . a secret" chuckled Yuka. She then went back to moving things around as the sisters stood there curious to who the mystery guest was.

Eventually finishing up their changes, the trio made their way onto a bus and soon headed off to the Yokohama station where Kohta and his family would soon be.

During their short trip Kaede looked out a window as she reflected on the events of her last year of junior high.

It turned out she had met Nozomi a very long time ago back when she was still in the orphanage. That girl had always practiced singing at that isolated hill where she used to go when she wanted to be alone.

However, they never actually met as she had always watched her from behind. Although she would have left to find a new alone spot it started becoming a habit after hearing her sing a few times. Amazingly, her song gave her solace when she was feeling her lowest on certain days.

Afterwards when her mother came, what happened to the singing girl was a mystery to her. But it turned out that sometime later the hill was demolished to make room for some new architecture project. So with her secret practice spot gone she eventually met Yuka to which she started practicing at her place. So now in the present she and Nyu were now formerly introduced to her to which a budding friendship was beginning to form. As for the reason why Nozomi would never practice at her home was something she would come to learn later.

Now in regards to school, nothing eventful occurred to which it was a plus as far as she cared. But what concerned her most of the time was how much attention her sister was getting. Although she quickly made friends without effort, she had the unpleasant task of keeping Nyu's girl groping in check which proved to be quite troublesome. Although she didn't really care for rumors since it usually didn't mean anything. The problem was the fact they were twins. So anything she did got reflected onto her by either mistaken identity or sisterly interests.

But after a while, she got so tired of trying to amend her sister's perverted ways that she decided to cut her hair short in order for people to tell the difference between them. Although it did rectify some of her burdens it did not stop some mortified girls from complaining to her. The pink diclonius sighed at that thought, "_That girl has been far too busy with how many complaints I get_".

Additionally she ended up getting her tough girl reputation back by accident with all the punks in the school she had to deal with. Partly due to some questionable guys that Nyu's perversion lured in and partly due to having to 'help' the weaker willed students who were unable to stand up for themselves.

Interestingly enough, her status ended up leading her to something . . . . unexpected.

* * *

~flashback~

"S.D.S.?" asked Kaede questionably.

"Yes, the school disciplinary squad. We were hoping that you would be interested in joining. Your reputation would certainly help in maintaining the order at our school".

The pink diclonius looked dumbfounded at the teacher from the high school she was going to attend next year. She then rubbed the back of her head not knowing exactly what to say.

The teacher noticed her hesitation and proceeded to talk. "Of course we're not making you do it. But there are benefits if you decide to do so. Some of them would be most beneficial to your future such as fulfilling your community service hours and having something good to put on your college resume if you decide to go of course".

Kaede thought carefully about this position. If she accepted that would mean she would have to do a lot of troublesome things such as dealing with every troublemaker at school on a daily basis and disciplining people who are far too arrogant to listen. However some of the perks were quite alluring which included being able to leave class whenever she wanted.

Besides she was always getting high marks on all her classes so she figured, why did she have to stick around? And if she did have problems she could always just mooch off her sister's notes.

Now back to the present, "Yeah sure".

"Wonderful news! But due to the fact that this was a new branch to the student council and no one really wanted to join you'll end up being squad leader to which additionally you'll have to recruit your own team. OK bye" the teacher blurted out and then quickly left.

~end flashback~

* * *

Kaede's eyes scrunched slightly as her lips formed a slight frown. "_I think I just got duped_". She then looked to her sister. In the time of having this position dumped on her she ended up having Nyu join her as the unofficial squad secretary since she insisted on wanting to come along. Additionally she ended up including several other miscellaneous people because maintaining the school's order on her own would have been ridiculous.

Now after all her thinking they finally arrived to the train station where Kohta was soon to arrive.

The three girls exited the bus and stood on the platform where the train would come.

As they watched with glee, Kohta and his family appeared before them slightly . . . . different then how they usually did.

"What's with all the baggage?" asked Nyu with a perched eyebrow.

Kohta looked to her with surprise then smiled. "You didn't know?" The twins shook their head in unison. "I'll be living with you for a while. So I hope Kanae and I won't be too much trouble".

"I'm so happy to be living with you" cried Kanae as she ran and glomped her favorite pink diclonius.

" . . . . what?" was all Kaede could say as the shock of what was said finally settled in.

It seemed Kohta and Kanae had to live with them since their father was going away on a business trip. Since no other relative at that immediate moment was able to take them, his sister-in-law (Yuka's mother) was the only viable option. Of course the elder woman couldn't exactly object since they were family, but she already had so many children as it was running around in her house. However she simply bumped it off as the more the merrier.

After gathering all their things and bringing it to the house, their father had to leave immediately to attend his meeting overseas. His children were sad of his leaving but they still had the family and friends that surrounded them.

"Do you know when he'll be back?" asked Kaede.

"I'm not sure" answered Kohta. "It may be days or years since this conference seemed to have been quite important. But I'm sure he'll be back as soon as he can".

"I see". The fact of Kohta now living under the same roof sent goose bumps all over her skin. She was ecstatic that he was going to live with them, but also concerned with the possible problems that might come along later.

"So where does everyone like to go?"

"Park" said Kanae.

"Beach" said Nyu.

"Restaurant" said Yuka.

"Theater" said Kaede

Kohta chuckled at the many suggestions. It was also apparent that no one was going to unanimously agree. So it was decided on a dice roll to which it ended on Kaede's suggestion.

The pink diclonius gave an inner smirk due to her . . . . influence. "So what movie should we watch?"

"Action" said Kanae.

"Fantasy" said Kohta.

"Romance" said Yuka.

"Comedy" said Nyu.

"I say horror" Kaede grinned. Following all theater dating clichés this would give her a good excuse to cling to Kohta.

Of course on another dice roll it 'unexpectedly' ended in her favor.

After getting to their destination and picking out the movie the only thing they had to decide was where they were going to sit. Although it was such a simple thing it quite predictably ended in a feud.

"I'll be sitting next to Kohta" said Kaede as she grasped one of his arms.

"I want to sit next to him" said Yuka as she immediately went for his other arm.

"But what about me?" asked Nyu as she placed her finger to her lips. "I wanted to sit with Kohta-kun too".

Kanae looked at the scene with indifference as she folded her arms. "Oniichan is a pervert".

"What do you mean by that?" he blushed.

"You have all these girls fighting over you just to simply sit next to you, and yet you're not doing anything to solve this. You really are a pervert oniichan".

"I think you're using the word in the wrong context" as Kohta gave a strained chuckle.

Meanwhile the other girls separated from the siblings as they continued to bicker amongst themselves in order to decide who would sit where. It almost got to a point where a fight was about to break out, but thankfully a suggestion was made to quell the problem.

"On three, ready?"

"Ja! Ken! Po!" said the trio in unison.

* * *

"_This is so not fair_" thought Kaede as she sat between Kanae and Nyu.

Although her plan was going accordingly the problem was she wasn't a part of it. During the scary moments Yuka and Nyu would hold onto Kohta tightly to which he would visibly show discomfort from how hard they were holding him. But if they were scared or simply doing it because they could was debatable since she too was scared to the point of grasping Kanae tightly during certain scenes. It was no sooner that she prayed the movie would come to an end.

"That was fun" smiled Kanae as she stretched out her arms. "Although it really wasn't that scary. Right oneesan?"

Kaede flinched at the question. "r . . . . right".

The younger girl looked to her with interest then grinned. "Don't tell me you were scared by such a thing like that?"

"I wasn't scared! I was just surprised during certain scenes and I only held you because you seemed scared!"

"_Oh?_" Kanae mused . "Look out! Freaky man with a chainsaw!"

"Ekkk!" squealed Kaede in a very uncharacteristic girl like sound. In that moment her vectors swung up a gust of wind which forced anyone who was wearing a dress/skirt to fly up.

"Watch what you're doing Kaede-san" blushed Yuka as she pushed her dress down.

"That was weird" as Nyu made no attempt to keep it down.

"Onnichan is a pervert!" said Kanae as she caught her brother taking a quick glance at what was revealed.

"But it was your fault for scaring Kaede-san like that!"

"A pervert is still a pervert" as she walked a head folding her arms behind her head. Everyone then gave a laugh at his expense to which the only thing he could do was blush and take it since further talking would only prove to be more detrimental.

* * *

The group decided to take a walk around the area to clear their heads after having to sit in the theater for so long. Pleasantries and stories were exchanged amongst them as they talked about how there following years were like. As always Kohta, Kanae, and at times Yuka was surprised at what the twin dicloniuses had to say. Of course they would always give the kiddy version of it with some portions being conveniently forgotten, but nevertheless what they had to say always surprised them.

But after a while Nyu seemed to peel away from the group which caught Kaede's attention.

"You've been acting weird all day. Are you sure you're alright?"

Nyu nodded, "everything is fine. I'm just feeling a bit antsy".

The pink diclonius narrowed her eyes. "You know it isn't proper to lie to your older sister like that".

"Since when were you older sister?"

"Since you became the troublemaker of us both" she scowled. Kaede immediately relaxed herself before speaking again. "Alright seriously, what's going on? You're not the type of person to keep what she thinks bottled up. You'll definitely feel better afterwards when you let it out".

The ditzy girl averted her eyes as she began to look down. "But if I tell you then you'll get angry with me".

"What are you talking about? Most of the things you say tend to do get on my nerves. You never really listen either and you always manage to get into more trouble when I think you couldn't possibly make things more worse. But you're my sister and that is more than enough of a reason for me to help you. Besides your problems are my problems you know" smiled Kaede.

Nyu looked to her briefly before looking away again. "But I can't tell you because you'll definitely get angry and most likely scold me right after".

The horned girl then petted her head. "I scold you because it's for your own good. But if you keep things bottled up it won't be good for you and that'll make me worry about you even more. So tell me what's on your mind".

She then began to wiggle as she pushed her index fingers against each other. "There's . . . . something I want to do".

"Nothing incredibly dumb I hope".

Nyu shook her head. "It's something I've wanted to do for a while. But I was afraid . . . ."

"Afraid?"

She nodded, "I was afraid of what you would think of me if I did this particular thing".

"Nyu . . . . you're not doing something illegal are you?"

Nyu shook her head adamantly. "Why would you think such a thing?"

Kaede shrugged, "You're being ambiguous since you're not getting to the point. So what is it already?"

" . . . . You promise you won't get mad?"

"Yes Nyu, I promise I won't get mad".

"Cross your heart and hope to die?"

"_Of all the childish . . . . !_" as a vein mark appeared on her cheek. "Yes cross my heart and everything. So what's bothering you already?"

Nyu immediately turned around and started to run until she was in tackling speed. In one instantaneous moment she had her victim to the ground as she planted a kiss on the lips of her target. After a few seconds she backed away while sporting a huge blush on her cheeks.

"N . . . . N . . . . Nyu-san! What was that about?" Kohta blushed as he was still on the ground unable to get up.

The ditzy girl continued to mount his stomach as she still maintained her immense smile and blush. "Ever since I learned that you kissed oneesan I wanted to kiss you too, and it was a very interesting experience". Nyu then turned her head and smiled to her sister. "So that makes us even now right?"

Yuka and Kanae gaped at what they witnessed and heard. "You kissed Kaede-san/oneesan!" in respect to their order.

Kaede however was in complete shock at what Nyu just did to which her mind was completely blank to what she was supposed to think.

* * *

The walk home left an awkward silence for everyone. No one could find the right words to define what they felt at the moment.

Upon arriving home they all had a silent dinner and quietly went to their own rooms which left Yuka's mother curious to the change in the atmosphere. But then dismissed it as them simply being tired.

"_What a mess_" thought Kaede as she sat sulking under the running shower.

"_But I can't really say anything either . . . ._"

She wanted to be angry, but she couldn't at the same time. There was just . . . . simply too much she couldn't understand.

It was true she was shocked at what Nyu did, but she was conflicted about what she should feel. Sure she was agitated because of her jealousy of wishing to monopolize Kohta . Yet . . . . she was happy for the simple reason of them being together.

"_Strange . . . ._"

Watching them it seemed OK since something about it seemed . . . . just fine to her. It really wasn't the case of the responsible sister ensuring her siblings happiness. But for some unexplainable reason it was just . . . . fine if Nyu ended up with him.

Kaede slightly blushed, "_Why do I feel this way?_"

A moment passed in silence as she soaked herself under the shower. But unknowingly the bathroom door opened as someone apparently came inside. "_She probably came in to scrub my back again_"

"It's OK Nyu, I got it covered" as she picked up a towel with her vector and brought it to her back. As she turned around it became quite obvious her sister was not the one to come in. "What are you doing in here?" There now stood Kohta in nothing more than a towel around his waist (although she didn't mind the view).

". . . . S . . . . S . . . . Sorry!" he stuttered as he blushed immensely. He then immediately covered his eyes and turned around.

"Didn't you hear the shower going? Are you deaf or something?" as she moved to her arms to cover herself.

"Sorry! Sorry! Sorry! I'm getting out now!" as he went for the door and attempted to open it. But was unsuccessfully managing that task. "Is the door locked or something? Why is it not working?"

He then turned around to see Kaede standing up covering her front with a towel and moving towards him. Kohta started to panic in fear of knowing the kind of temper his pink haired friend had. He immediately turned around and started to try and forcefully open the door, but to no avail. "Why can I not open the door?"

"Because I'm keeping it shut . . . ."

If Kohta was able too, he would have clearly seen an invisible arm keeping the door closed.

"Kaede-san?" said Kohta as he faced her, but then turned back around as he found his eyes beginning to dangerously look down on her figure.

Before he knew it, a pair of arms snaked around his stomach pulling him in as he felt her head lay onto his back. But this was not a situation he could relax in as his body felt like a piece of plywood since the only thing that separated their intimate contact was a thin towel on the pink haired girl which threatened to fall off at any moment. "_Kaede-san! What are you doing?_"

"Didn't you want me to leave?" Kohta stuttered as he tried to maintain his composure.

". . . . I wanted to talk to you alone for a while . . . . ."

"But don't you think there's a better time and place for this? Like being clothed and not in the bathroom!"

"It has to be now or I won't be able to work up the nerve to talk to you later" as she held him tighter.

"_Chest! Chest! Chest!_"

"Kohta . . . . What do you think of my sister?"

"Nyu-san! I . . . . I really like her"

Kaede sighed as she closed her eyes, but then reopened them. "I meant . . . ." exhaled. " Do you see that someday Nyu can be more than just a friend to you?"

". . . ."

"_Not a fair question to ask . . . ._"

Silence passed for some unknown amount of time.

"How do you feel about Yuka?"

"We're cousins, so it's kind of a given that I care for her".

"Nothing else?"

"Is there more to say?"

"_That's good to hear . . . ._ "

"One last question Kohta".

"Y . . . . Yes?"

"What do you feel about me?"

The tanned boy flinched at the question as the two guns to his back didn't exactly ease the questioning. His face then hardened as he thought carefully about the question.

"I . . . . I . . . . I don't know how to answer . . . ."

". . . . ?"

"I do like you, but the exact question you want answered . . . . I don't have an answer ready for you yet . . . ."

" . . . . I see" responded Kaede

"Oneesan! I came to wash your back . . . . Ara? What's going on here? Is Kohta-kun washing you without me?"

On that given opportunity the boy made his escape running pass Nyu and straight to his room.

"Oneesan?"

"It's . . . . nothing" as she looked to the side processing everything she was told.

"Hmm, . . . . So can I wash your back now?"

* * *

"_Ah man, I can't believe I just said all that_" thought Kohta as he lay in his bed after managing to take his bath and jumping into his PJ's.

He then rolled to his side and thought about everything his pink friend asked of him. "_What I think of them . . . . ?_"

Images of the sisters started to flood his mind as he recalled every moment they had with each other. Every prank, every laugh, and every smile they shared together. He then covered his face as he recalled the most recent memory of Nyu kissing him and Kaede pressing herself against his back. "_I must really be scum to think of both of them like that_" he blushed.

But if he wasn't so busy thinking he would have noticed that there were intruders in his room.

Kohta was then snapped out of his thoughts as he felt someone against his back. He then turned to see a short haired girl as a pair of crimson eyes were looking at him. "Kaede-san?" he exclaimed quietly. Another figure then appeared right behind him. "Nyu-san?"

"Onessan told me everything" Nyu smiled fondly.

"Ehh?"

"We both like you a lot Kohta. Someday we hope that . . . . our friendship might become something more" said Kaede.

"But . . . .!"

"We both want to be with you Kohta-kun. But who you wish to be with is something you must decide on your own. It's OK, whatever you choose in the end we'll always be friends".

The tanned boy was shocked at their resolve. He then thought intensely before speaking again. "I'm sorry for not being able to give an answer right away".

The sisters giggled at the response. "That's fine, we weren't expecting one this soon".

Kohta gave a strained chuckle. "You two aren't planning to stay here are you? We shouldn't be sleeping together like this".

"We just wanted to enjoy the feeling of your warmth tonight" said Nyu as she snuggled closer to him.

"Don't worry, we'll be out of here before the morning comes" said Kaede as she mimicked the same action.

The boy gave another strained chuckle as he had no choice but to adapt. The two sisters had no intention of leaving that night until early morning. Kohta sighed, "I hope this doesn't become a daily thing".

After some time he finally relaxed enough to allow himself to drift off. Soon the three bed occupants were asleep peacefully in each other arms as it felt their relationship has taken a step into a whole new world. Whether it was good or not, none of them could really say. But time was all they needed to figure it out. Although deep down the answer was already there.

* * *

Author's notes: I apologize if this chapter seems short or possibly vague. But at this point, each chapter will represent roughly a huge passage of time in this universe until the story catches up to where Elfen Lied begins in the canon story.

Additionally as you noticed I'm bumping Yuka off from the running and simply leaving it as family love seeing as Kohta's current life is radically different from his last life.

Now if anyone has questions or wishes for something to be clarified I'll be more than happy to answer them.

alvarorbenavides – Now I would love to show drawing of the characters I think of. But unfortunately I cannot since I'm an extremely bad artist and I'd rather not soil your eyes with it. Additionally your deduction is right on the money, but I won't reveal yet why the characters are like that.

Snowy-Sonya – I will let Aiko back, but much later in the story.

So I thank you for your time in reading this fic and further extend my gratitude if you can review it as well.


	19. Impression

Chapter 19: Impression

Synopsis: There always trouble around the corner depending on the life one has chosen for themselves. In such events, solutions are always difficult to find when the answer to the problem requires one to step over there their normal morals and ethics. But if this is the life one chooses then they must be vigilant is always keeping up with the problem or become threatened to drown in it.

Reminder: I do not own Elfen Lied or any characters associated with it

"talking"

_thoughts_

_

* * *

_

The rest of the summer was . . . . interesting for the lack of better words.

It seemed like their connection with Kohta had evolved into something new. But it was something she couldn't quite describe.

If she had to make an analogy, it was like a grander bridge was created between them which made communication and understanding so much more . . . . coherent.

But as for the other two females in the group, their interpretation of their relationship was . . . . unique.

Kanae was ecstatic at the idea of having Kaede as a possible sister-in-law someday.

But Yuka . . . . it seemed as if Yuka was now more distant from them. She was still the same overall, but it seemed as if there was . . . . a hollowness behind her words and actions whenever they interacted.

She wasn't acting rude in anyway. It was just . . . . she didn't seem complete anymore.

"I'm sorry" said Kaede as she looked down guiltily.

At that time, both she and Yuka were sitting at the park as Kaede wanted to bring closure to the rift that formed.

"I knew how you felt about Kohta. But it just kind of . . . . ended up like this between us".

"It's OK, you have no reason to apologize" smiled Yuka.

Kaede frowned as her heart felt heavy from her reaction. It was pretty obvious in itself that Yuka was masking her feelings. If she knew anything about human psychology it wasn't good for the brunette to bottle up all these negative feelings.

"If that's all you want to say then I'll be going now" as she stood up to leave.

"Hit me . . . ."

"Ehh?"

"I want you to hit me" said Kaede as she was now staring Yuka down.

"But why would I do that? There's no need to do something so outrageous!"

"Because when you're mad you should say so. Being polite can only go so far and if you keep letting this build up inside of you then you're only going to hurt yourself. So I want you to hit me here and now".

"That's crazy; I won't do such a thing". She then turned around and was prepared to walk away.

Kaede frowned at her action. If she wanted to get the desired results then she would have to do something rather distasteful.

"Kissing Kohta was rather nice you know".

Yuka stopped dead in her tracks as she felt a shock in her chest.

"But too bad you'll never to do it since Kohta will never see you like that. I mean after all you are cousins and that's as far as it will ever go".

"Stop it . . . . .".

"Stop what? I'm only being truthful after all. Most of the time you're just a wall flower who takes on everyone else's crap with nothing to show for it. It's no surprise things ended up this way. I wouldn't be surprised if you ended up as a lonely old lady by the time you died".

"Please stop . . . . "

"Why should I? You're not going to do anything about it. You're just a door mat who . . . ."

But before Kaede could finish a hard slap met her face which almost sent her to the ground.

Recovering from the shock she looked back at the brunette with a smirk. "Do you feel better now?"

Tears poured out of her eyes as Yuka nodded her head in shame. Her body also shook in frustration and sadness from the tongue lashing she endured.

"I'm sorry for saying all that" said Kaede. "But when you're angry or uncomfortable then you should let people know or nothing is ever going to change. You shouldn't be afraid to tell people these things because sometimes it's just something that has to get out in the open. If you need support that's why friends exist to help you through it ya know. So don't be afraid to vent once in a while because holding it back just too be polite is something people really shouldn't do".

She then stepped forward and embraced the brunette.

"So are we still friends?"

Yuka nodded against her shoulder to which Kaede gave a soft smile.

"I hate you . . . . "

"Hmm?"

"I hate you for taking Kohta away from me. But . . . . I can't hate you either at the same time".

The brunette then clenched her fist as she thought carefully on how she wanted to word her feelings. "You're one of my friends too. But you've always been such a special person since I met you. You were always so beautiful, smart, and strong. Always having a good time and commanding the attention around you. I . . . .I was jealous of the things you had, and I was ashamed to admit it to anyone. But more so to myself".

Sniffle sounds soon became apparent. "But you were always so modest and willing to share what you had with everyone. You even helped me when I needed it even though I never asked . . . . But it's probably because of these reasons that Kohta came to like you more. Although I may not like it, he . . . . chose you and I have to learn to accept it".

She soon closed her arms around the pink diclonius as she began to drench her shoulder.

"_I never thought she thought so highly of me_". She then patted the brunette's back in order to soothe her pain. "Well if it's any consolation you can hate Nyu as well, but she'll most likely just hug you like the idiot she is".

Yuka coughed out a chuckle. "Nyu-chan would probably grope me thinking it would make me feel better".

Kaede sighed, "Knowing her, she probably would".

* * *

Now for the most part, there was really nothing else to their summer as they spent it like they always did. At the end of that season the group was now beginning high school (excluding Kanae since she was still in junior high).

School uniforms like always were troublesome, but one cannot complain. Girls had to wear line patterned black skirts, white dress shirts, a small patterned bowtie, and a vest or coat jacket which both were optional to wear. Boys wore the same colors but with pants and a tie in respect to their gender.

As far as class was concerned, she and Nyu ended up in the same class with Kohta and Yuka ending up in another.

Although it was her wish that everyone could stay together by at least being in the same club, it just wasn't meant to be. Kohta was off in the basketball club, Yuka went to flower arranging, Nyu ended up in choir, and she herself in music club. Even though they couldn't spend time together as she wished, they still were enjoying their time regardless of it.

Overall things were shaping up OK, but like almost every school year everyone was curious to whom they were. Ever since junior high, they hid their horns because too many questions accumulated about them. But after that incident in the mall something spoke to her to make sure no one found out about them. Why it actually mattered she wasn't entirely sure, but something deep down told her to keep them hidden.

Now the matter which caught their schoolmates' interest was their pink hair and crimson eyes. There was just some strange fascination in Japanese society about people who didn't have black hair and hazel eyes.

The usual questions that people would ask in which the twins heard many times before were . . . .

"Are you foreigners?"

"Are you half's?"

"Where did you come from?"

Like all those times they answered the best they could because honestly they still had no idea what the heck they were.

Although it was kind of demeaning when people were looking at you like some kind of exotic animal. It was strangely quite flattering.

* * *

Lunch then came around as everyone was filtering out to the cafeteria.

"Hey oneesan, let's go find Kohta-kun and Yuka-chan so that they could have lunch with us".

Kaede nodded.

The pair made their way to their friend's classroom to behold a scene which was now becoming common to them.

At seeing this Kaede felt irked with Nyu simply looking at the scene curiously.

"Come on Kohta, don't you want to spend lunch with me?"

"What about me?"

"How about me?"

It seemed Kohta was being surrounded by many females in his class.

As a certain pink diclonius watched, she couldn't help but feel more peeved at what she saw.

Although she didn't know it then Kohta was quite the catch amongst the ladies. Aside from his well structured body, handsome face, and polite personality he was an oddity like themselves. Japanese boys don't have blue eyes. It was simply for this reason for some (mostly girls) to want to get close to him.

"_I've had enough of this_". She then ran forward and grabbed his hand. "Let get out of here" as Kaede proceeded to run him right out of the area.

"Hey wait you thief!"

"After them!"

As the spectacle occurred, some boys watched in jealousy.

"That lucky bastard!"

"Why does he get all the girls?"

"How did he get her of all the girls?"

* * *

After some running and regrouping, the four friends had their lunch on the roof where another common scene began to unfold.

"Say 'aww' Kohta-kun" as Nyu attempted to feed the boy.

"Nyu-san you don't have to keep doing that".

"Why do you keep calling me Nyu-san? Why don't you call me Nyu-chan?"

Kohta blushed as he rubbed the back of his head. "I don't think it would be appropriate of me to call you that".

"Why not?"

"Well . . . . you aren't . . . . exactly my girlfriend or anything".

"Of course I'm your girlfriend, I'm a girl and your friend right?" she cheered as she jumped right on top of the surprised boy.

"Aren't you going to do something?" asked Yuka a she looked at the scene. Of course she came to accept the new relationship, but still it didn't stop her from feeling irked at what she saw.

"Doing anything would only encourage her to keep going" said Kaede. She then looked to the side as she pouted. "Although I wished I could be doing that with him" as Nyu was still messing around with the boy.

"Well if it isn't the captain of the bitch brigade".

The group of friends turned to see a punkish looking boy approaching them followed by a small group of his followers.

"Tsk, what are you doing here Adachi?" glared Kaede.

Adachi was the boy's name. He was pretty much the leader of all the delinquents on the school premises. Probably even for part of the city limits.

That guy was bad news no matter how you looked at it. He did every evil thing imaginable from theft to assault which appeared to have been evolving into sexual assault as of late. Why he was even still allowed on campus was a mystery. But the fact was that out of all the S.D.S. officers she was the only one who had the guts to talk down to him and if necessary fight him.

"We were just wondering around minding our own business and we just so happened to bump into your group. Pretty strange huh?" as his group of hoodlums advanced forward.

"I must ask you all to leave please" said Yuka as politely as possible. "Your presence here is already disturbing the school peace, and I'd like to remind you that . . . ."

A hard slap met the brunette's face as the thug looked down on her. "I really hate talkative girls. They're really quite annoying".

"Yuka!" Kohta called as he jumped into action by punching his cousin's attacker.

The other guys laughed, "Looks like we have a tough guy here".

The delinquents then got into flanking position as they surrounded Kohta giving him no way to escape and less of a chance to fight back.

"Let's see you fight now!"

But then two more of the hoodlums dropped as Kaede with a knife hand and Nyu with a heavy object stood behind the fallen boys.

"I think it's time you all left" said Kaede. "But then again you could stay and that would be more than enough of a good reason to send you all to the hospital".

"Can't wait to get this started" said Adachi.

"Chief! Are you OK?"

The delinquent group looked back to see as many S.D.S. officers arrived on the scene as they flooded through the doors.

"Tsk, what a pain" as Adachi looked back at the party crashers. "We'll be going now. But don't think that this is over".

With that their group left.

"Chief, are you alright?" asked some of the S.D.S. officers.

"I'm alright, I'll take care of the clean up here" said Kaede to which they all left momentarily. She looked back to see as Kohta and Nyu tended to Yuka as the brunette rubbed the sore spot on her cheek.

"You alright?" asked the pink diclonius.

"I'm alright" as Yuka held her cheek.

"What a jerk" fumed Nyu. "I hope they get what's coming to them".

"_Unfortunately it's not that easy_" the horned girl thought.

There was little to no point in reporting this matter to the higher ups. Everyone else also acknowledged this as fact. An administrator could suspend them or expel them, but that doesn't keep them off the campus. Not to mention that some of them have 'influential' backgrounds, this fact in itself makes it impossible to permanently ban them.

So in that case, all Kaede and her S.D.S. group could do was try to keep the peace the best they could.

* * *

A few more days passed with nothing irregular occurring.

On this day, the twin sisters along with their respective groups were practicing together for an upcoming concert in which both their clubs would co-perform together in front of the entire school.

"I can't believe you got the teacher to agree to this" stated Kaede unbelievably.

"The teacher really liked the sound and lyrics to it. So it was really easy" smiled Nyu.

Kaede then rolled her eyes. "Alright, if everyone has their music sheets then let's begin".

In that moment, the song Lillium was performed with the choir club singing the lyrics and the music club taking care of the background (really awesome opening to Elfen Lied).

Soon people started to gather as they heard the enchanting music. Then more people started to show up around the music room to see the commotion. As more time passed even more people showed up to listen in.

By the time their performance ended a crowd had unknowingly formed around them to which they began to cheer and clap.

"Thank you! Thank you!" cheered Nyu as every performer took a bow.

"That was amazing" clapped Kohta as he had recently returned from basketball practice.

"Truly wonderful" clapped Yuka.

And the praise would have gone on longer if a female shrieking sound wasn't made in the background.

"Stop it!"

"Come on you know you like it".

Kaede sighed, "it's that prick again".

"I'll be back" she said as she quickly made her way out of the room and towards the origin of the distress

But with her leaving as well as curiosity towards the situation many including Kohta, Yuka, and Nyu followed to see what was going on.

Upon the S.D.S. chief's arrival, that boy along with his delinquent gang was ganging up on a couple of girls as it appeared obvious that they were being assaulted. Of course other S.D.S. officers were on the scene, but they were already having their hands full trying not to get beaten up. So it was clear her intervention was necessary.

"And what the hell do you punks think you're doing?" as she glared daggers at the group.

"Well if it isn't the pink bitch" sneered Adachi as his full attention was on her now. "So what brings you out here?"

"_Little bastard trying to be cute_". "Don't play dumb, you know why I'm out here. So disband your group or be taken down by force". She then clenched her fist cracking her knuckles in the process.

"Well that's fine; these girls were pretty ugly anyways. I'd definitely like to take some special time in dealing with you" to which his group members began to step forward.

Kaede scoffed, "it's sad to see a pathetic person like you. You're probably the size of a sharpened down pencil. It's the most likely reason why you're acting out like this".

"You stupid bitch, I'll show you up close if you'd like. Alright boys let's get her!" commanded Adachi.

"But boss, she's really tough. Despite her size she's really strong".

"You moron, it doesn't matter how tough she is. As long as we work together there's no way she can take us all on. So get in there!"

At that command, they began their attack.

"I guess you can't teach an idiot a new trick" Kaede sighed. She then removed her coat jacket and in the matter of a few minutes she reduced the fierce gang to nothing more than a pile of bodies.

"Had enough?" she threatened as she had Adachi by a choke hold against the wall.

"F**king bitch" as he attempted but couldn't force her hand off.

"I see". She then took out a folding knife which she 'acquired' during the brawl.

"Ahh!" The next thing Adachi knew, the blade was now next to his sensitive zone threatening to cut him in the slightest flinch. The delinquent leader looked down in shock as he began to sweat bullets. "What the hell do you think you're doing you crazy bitch?"

"Giving you a deal, either shape up or lose a testicle and these terms are non-negotiable".

"You're crazy!"

". . . . I'm tired of having to deal with your shit everyday" said Kaede darkly. "Personally I'd rather create a personal solution then having to deal with this on a repetitive basis".

Adachi grunted as he attempted to get enough space from him and the knife.

"So do you understand the situation you're in? or do you need an object lesson?"

He shook his head.

"Good" Kaede smirked. She then threw him to the ground followed by throwing the knife in between his legs. "Make sure you remember it well because next time I might just 'accidentally' do something unpleasant".

At the end of that statement the delinquent picked himself up and ran away.

With her triumph, the spectators cheered as justice prevailed once again.

Kaede smiled and waved before proceeding back into the building. Her face then sagged, "What a pain in the ass. It would be so much easier if I had it my way". To put it out in lamest terms the school's administration either has no backbone or power to get rid of them. If she could do it her way, she would have broken their legs or spine to permanently put them down for good. Truth is she was more than willing to do it with all the crap she had to clean up. Even on the first day of the job she lost count of how many fights and thefts she had to intervene in.

It was surprising in how the school managed to hide the high delinquency rate, but nevertheless she took some pride in being able to bring some sense of security to those around her.

"Oneesan! You were awesome. Are you hurt anywhere?" called Nyu as she waved to her.

"Everything's fine now".

* * *

"That bitch" whined Adachi as he tended to his wounds. Being angry couldn't even come close to what he was feeling. He, the biggest evilest guy around, was just beaten up by a girl and in front of the entire school no less.

"Hey boss, what are we going to do about her? She's too tough to deal with directly".

"You morons! She's just a girl. How did you idiots let yourself get beaten by her?"

"But boss you were beaten . . . ." But he was unable to finish his statement as the boy jumped on him and mercilessly began to pound in his face.

"Don't you dare say it!" stated Adachi angrily as he didn't stop hitting well after his victim was unconscious nor did anyone jump in out of fear of their leader.

"But boss what are we going to do about her?"

"We can't do the usual with her around".

"If we can get rid of her then the other S.D.S. officers will be no problem for us".

Adachi thought carefully about this until a sick sadistic smile began to spread on his face. "Well do 'that'".

"That?" said some of the members.

"Yeah, it's been a while since we've done 'that' and we could lose some of the stress we've been building up because of it" he sneered.

"Yeah it's been a while since we've had a party like that!"

"Make sure to bring all the right stuff this time".

"Don't forget the camera this time. I want watch it over and over again".

"Hey make me a copy too".

Adachi watched as the group got excited from his plan. "_That pink bitch will definitely pay this time. I'll definitely make sure to break her spirit with it_".

* * *

Days passed without incident to which the pink diclonius felt at ease with. However this calm came way too suddenly. Although she dealt with Adachi directly she didn't think things would quiet down this easily. But something deep down made her feel that this was only the eye of the storm and that something drastic was going to happen soon.

"Oneesan, is there something wrong?" asked Nyu as she waved her hand in front of her.

"No, nothing" Kaede blurted. "Anyways can you go home on your own? Kohta and Yuka have some after school activities to attend too and I have some duties to finish up here. Since you don't have anything to do today why don't you head home and see if Kanae needs any help with her work. I'm also pretty sure Nozomi will be there to sing with you".

"Sure" responded Nyu as a twinkle reflected in her eye.

"Alright, I'll see you later then" said Kaede as she left the classroom to make her rounds.

"OK" smiled Nyu.

The ditzy girl began cleaning up after herself and was soon ready to leave. On her way down the hall some part of her being whether an animal instinct or a sixth sense told her to look behind her.

Only if Nyu just turned to look a second sooner she would have had enough time to scream.

To be continued . . . .

* * *

Author's notes: high school can be a real drag depending on who you are within the 'social ladder'. But when it comes to thugs and bullies, they're the type of people that are the most detestable by many including myself. Of course there are reasons why some people act out like that. But obviously there is no excuse for delinquency.

But back to the story Nyu has been nabbed by Adachi's crew and no one knows about it. Their intentions have already been made out to be less then honorable and what happens next will affect Nyu and her friends in a way that no one expects. Additionally I apologize if this chapter seems too cut up, but I hope you will endure with me as I promise it'll get better. No, I will not allow anything evil happen to Nyu.

alvarorbenaavides – I'll try to clarify/answer the best I can. You're right that some people haven't accepted them fully, and concerning Kohta's family only Kohta, Yuka, and Kanae knows about it. But as for everyone else I at least want to believe that people are not complete judgmental jerks. But in relation to some of your others questions they'll definitely be answered in future chapters. Now as for lemon material there are three reasons why I can't make it. First that would require me to change the rating to 'M'. Second I personally know my beta-reader. Third my beta-reader is still tough enough to beat the crap out of me in a fist fight.

But if I get a request (PMing) I will write a standalone story about the scene that will happen in later chapters. So it's up to you the audience if you want me to write it.

So I thank you for your time in reading this fic and further extend my gratitude if you can review it as well.


	20. Reflection

Chapter 20: Reflection

Synopsis: Here is something one must ponder. When you take a good look at yourself what do you expect to see? Will you see the person you thought you were? Or will you see something you never expected? Whatever the case, what you see is only a fraction of the entire whole. But it is one's choice if they allow what they see to consume them or not.

So with Nyu gone and no one to explain anything, what will Kaede do to find her sister.

Reminder: I do not own Elfen Lied or any characters associated with it

"talking"

_thoughts_

_

* * *

_

Kaede continued to monitor the halls as she looked back and forth for any troublemakers. "_Strange, I kind of figured things would be a lot more noisy_".

Although there were a few problem kids running around it wasn't as bad as it would usually be on common day. But a few of the heavy hitters were not present and that definitely got her attention.

"Now what can they be up too if they're not causing trouble here".

But that was more of a spoken thought than anything else. She then resumed her patrol until her special male friend ran up to her.

"Kaede-san, do you know where Nyu-san is?" asked Kohta.

"Yeah I sent her home already since she had nothing to do here" answered Kaede. "Why? Is there something wrong?"

"Kanae called, she said she hasn't returned yet. Are you sure?"

The pink diclonius gave a puzzled look. "Strange, she wouldn't usually deviate from the way home". "_Not unless something cute caught her eye_" as she gave a sour look.

"Do you think she'll be OK?"

"I wouldn't worry about it too much, but . . . . she should know better not to wonder off"

* * *

"You moron!"

A thuggish boy was sent flying to the ground as a red mark was apparent on his face. "But we did as you said. We got the girl and brought her here as you asked".

"Are you blind you idiot?" exclaimed Adachi as he grabbed a handful of Nyu's hair pulling it down. The horned girl yelped in pain as she followed his hand in order to relieve the stress. "How can you get her confused with her sister? Didn't you see their hair lengths?"

"We're sorry boss"

"Tsk, whatever" as he looked back to the recently abducted girl. "But she'll do nicely for our plans".

Nyu cringed in fear of whatever they had planned for her. As much as she wanted to run it proved impossible seeing that she was duct taped to the chair as her legs and arms were mounted to the furniture's limbs.

"You . . . . You won't get away with this. When oneesan finds you, you'll definitely be sorry".

"Shut up" as the delinquent leader slapped her across the face.

Nyu's eyes watered at receiving the full force of his hand. She then bit her lip trying not to cry out.

"You should watch what you say" said Adachi. "I'd hate to ruin the goods before everyone gets here".

Nyu looked to the rest of the building to see a few more guys begin to filter in. "What . . . . What are you going to do?"

"What do you think?" He then grabbed Nyu's vest ripping it open.

"Nyyaaaa!" she cried is shock.

"We'll be very thorough with you, but don't worry, your dear sister will join you soon enough" as he soon began to laugh while going back to prepare his 'stage'.

Tears then began to appear. Although she may not have been the most common sensed person she was well aware of what they were going to do to her. Her body then shook in anxiety. "_Please oneesan . . . . please find me!_" Nyu cried out mentally.

* * *

Kaede's face stretched in shock as it felt like something was rammed through her heart. "What was that?"

"Is there something wrong?" asked Kohta.

The horned shook her head. "I don't know. I just got this piercing feeling as if something was wrong. Could something have happened to Nyu?"

"Hey did you hear of the party Adachi is throwing?"

The pair turned as some students were walking by.

"Seems strange don't you think? throwing a party all of a sudden I wonder what it could be about".

"I hear it has something to do with 'honoring' the S.D.S. chief. Pretty weird huh? Plus it seems to be starting soon. But it all seems to be a joke of some bad taste".

The other student nodded as they both continued to walk by.

"Honoring the S.D.S. chief?" repeated Kohta. "What could that mean?"

Kaede thought carefully about this as she found it strange as well. "What could that prick be up too? Why the hell would he be 'honoring' me? And why is party starting soon? Could it be some sort of effigy? Some sort of protest?"

"Nyu!" exclaimed Kohta.

At that remark the pink girl's eyes widened at what this meant. "They have my sister!"

"But why do they have her?" he asked exasperated.

"They must have mistaken me for her". She then turned around looking back and forth. "What the hell could they be doing to her?"

"We need to calm down now Kaede-san! We need to think carefully about our next move!"

"I've already know what I'm going to do!" as she began to march away.

"Wait! What are you going to do?" as he grabbed for her shoulder.

Kaede then whacked his hand away as she faced him. Kohta suddenly felt a chill as he had never seen such a face on his pink haired friend. "I'm going to find one of his bastard friends's, and I'm going to make him talk!"

* * *

"Put the stage together properly" commanded Adachi. "I want to put on a good show for everyone".

Nyu continued to struggle in her chair every moment she got when no one was watching. "_Oneesan you've always been there to protect me? Where are you now?_" She then began to feel a wave of sadness well up in her. "_Oneesan . . . ._ "

"Alright the stage is ready! So let's have the guest of honor join us now!"

"_Oneesan!_"as she soon found herself being dragged to the stage.

* * *

"Where is she?" Kaede screamed as she punched out another thug.

"Please I don't know, I don't know, I don't know" the thug begged.

The horned girl grunted as she threw him aside and picked up another one of Adachi's friend's. "Where is she? Where is my sister?"

"Like I'll tell you" the delinquent sneered. Even though he was quite beaten up he felt pleasure at seeing the state the S.D.S. chief was in.

"Tell me or I'll . . . ."

"Or you'll what?" snorted the boy. "You're going to torture me until I tell you?"

"Good idea" said Kaede darkly. She then forced his hand open while pressing her thumb against his pinkie. With a little force she started to bend his finger back snapping it in two.

"Ahh! Wait stop! What are you doing?"

"Tell me where she is?"

Kohta stood behind her making sure the delinquents that were beaten down stayed down. Although he was fine with fighting when absolutely necessary he found it hard to watch as his pink companion was doing something rather inhumane. "But it can't be helped . . . . " He then turned away as he could no longer watch as Kaede had just bent his ring finger back.

"You have three fingers left before I move to your other hand. Now tell me where my sister is?"

The delinquent boy began to drool as pain clouded his mind. He then grunted in order to recollect himself. "They're probably w**ring her out at this very moment" he half-chuckled.

Kaede growled at his defiance. She then grabbed him by the leg and proceeded to drag him up the stairs.

"Kaede-san, where are you going?"

However the horned girl didn't bother to answer as she continued to climb higher in the building.

* * *

"Now I would like to present the object to your entertainment" announced Adachi.

The curtain then pulled back to reveal Nyu as she had her hands tied behind her as she was forced to step forward as some of Adachi's crew was pulling her up.

The pink haired girl looked to see many in the crowd as a good majority of them were holding video cameras.

"Now let the show begin" as the delinquent leader pulled out some scissors.

Nyu looked fearfully at them as Adachi closed the distance on her. As she tried to step back his thugs prevented her retreat.

"Now don't keep our audience waiting" he sneered. He then grabbed a chunk of Nyu's skirt as he began cutting at them.

"_Someone . . . . Help me . . . . Anyone . . . . . . Oneesan!_"

* * *

"Where is she?".

"What are you doing you crazy bitch?"

At this time Kaede, Kohta, and the current victim were standing on the roof as the horned girl continued her interrogation.

"Tell me what I want to know!" she demanded.

"You can't be serious! You're not going to kill me!" Although his face reflected otherwise. His eyes then widened slightly as he was suddenly lifted into the air and soon sent out beyond the safety of the roof's surface.

"If you're not going to tell me then you're of no use to me" said Kaede darkly.

"What . . . . what the hell are you?" the boy stuttered.

"Where is my sister?" she screamed.

"Kaede-san! Stop this!". She was then turned around as Kohta grasped both her shoulders. "Don't do this! What you're doing is going too far! You have to stop!"

"What for?" she said angrily. "He has what I want and I intend to get it!"

"I know the situation is dire and trust me when I say that I want to rescue Nyu just as badly as you!" Kaede then felt his hands begin to shake as he looked down. "But this isn't right and it's not like you to do something like this".

"But Nyu is in danger and I plan to do anything I have to do in order to keep her safe!"

"Listen to what you are saying!" as Kohta gave her a slight shake. "The Kaede-san I know would not do something like this! She would not say such callous things nor would she do that!" He then turned her around to look at the boy she had dangling out in the air.

Her eyes slightly widened in shock before becoming shadowed underneath her bangs. But slowly the boy came back to the roof, and by the time he crossed the edge he was flung to the wall leading to the stairway.

Kohta exhaled in relief for the choice she made.

" . . . . I was scared".

"Ehh?"

"I promised mother that I would protect Nyu". Kaede turned around to reveal as tears were streaming down her face. "I promised to protect her . . . . but if something were to happen to her then I wouldn't know what to do!"

"Don't worry we'll find her" said Kohta as he embraced her in a hug.

Kaede cried into his chest as she closed her eyes in an attempt to calm herself down. "_Oneesan!_"

Her eyes then snapped open as she looked up to Kohta. "Did you hear that?"

"Hear what?"

"That was Nyu! It definitely was her!"

"Kaede-san what's going on?"

"Nyu where are you?" she then closed her eyes once again to focus on hearing her. As her mind became immersed in darkness an image appeared to her southeast corner. She immediately turned to mentally see someone sitting there. "_Nyu!_"

Their sitting in the darkness her sister appeared both scared and alone as Nyu sat in the fetal position. Although she called out to her it seemed Nyu could not hear her, but apparently not in the other direction. "_Oneesan . . . . oneesan . . . . oneesan . . . . oneesan . . . . where are you?_"

"_Nyu!_" she called out, but once again she didn't hear.

"She's hurting, my sister is in pain right now!"

"How do you know that?"

But before she could answer she immediately ran off to the direction she mentally saw her sister.

"Where are you going?"

"Nyu . . . . Nyu is somewhere over there!"

"And how would you know that?"

"I . . . . I don't know. It's . . . . just a feeling that's where she is. I just know it".

"Wait! I'm coming with you" as Kohta started running as well.

"_Hold on Nyu!_" thought Kaede desperately.

* * *

At that same time the same girl stood on the stage barely able to stand anymore as she was soaking in her own tears. What remained of her clothes were shreds of cloth that were connected to the material that anchored them to her body.

But the hardest part of the situation was watching the crowd as they cheered on their delinquent leader's action.

"Now that the appetizer is done. How about we move on to the main course?" Adachi announced as the audience roared in cheers.

He turned back as he grabbed the scared girl by the arm. "I hope you're ready since you're the guest of honor" Adachi sadistically smiled.

Nyu's eyes appeared as her soul was about to break. But underneath all that sadness laid a sliver of hope that she would be saved. "_Oneesan . . . . Kohta . . . . Save me!_"

* * *

Kaede winced, "_I hear you . . . . I hear you . . . ._"

As the horned girl continued to run it almost seemed like Nyu's presence was getting stronger. Although she didn't know what to make of it she didn't really care as long as she was going in the right direction.

"Are you sure about this?" called Kohta.

"Yes, I'm certain. She's this way".

The pair continued to run, and as they got further they finally made it to what appeared to be an abandoned building.

"Is . . . . this where she is?"

Kaede nodded, "I can feel her here". They soon sneaked closer to the structure and took a peep inside. "_Nyu!_"

At that moment, the pink haired girl was being paraded through the audience as the crowd grabbed for her like dogs clamoring for a piece of meat. The sight in itself was disgusting to anyone with any sense of morals or ethics.

"What's the plan? What are we going to do?" asked Kohta.

"Simple" as Kaede tried to restrain her anger. "I'm going to hurt them all!"

"Wait Kaede-san, you can't go in alone". But regardless of his warning she charged in like a rabid animal. "Damn it!" as he ran in right after her.

"Who the hell are you?"

But the questioning was cut short as his face was broken in followed by another then another and many others. The time to talk has long since ended.

There will be no negotiations.

No begging.

And no one in that room she'll spare for hurting her sister.

"Intruders" as that word echoed in the large room.

The pink diclonius soon found herself completely surrounded by all sides as she fought everyone back.

Out of the corner of her eye an attacker approached her from behind only to be met with a fist from another guy.

"I told you, you're not alone in this" as Kohta went back to back with her.

"I could have handled this alone" responded Kaede. But truthfully the only way she could have handled this many was completely unrestricting her powers which meant killing a lot of people. That was something unacceptable as pertaining to her promise of never using her powers like that. Kaede then looked back and forth at the huge crowd. "I hope you know what you're getting yourself into".

"After fighting with Kanae all these years I kind of figure I know what I getting into".

On that note the brawl began as the two best friends did the best they could to cover each other while protecting themselves. As usual, Kaede was performing at her best as she beat down every delinquent that approached her. But surprisingly Kohta was holding his own. Maybe not at the level of a master or UFC fighter, but decently enough that he knew what he was doing.

As the fighting continued it started to feel like hours at how much they were exerting themselves just to stay alive. Although a simultaneous kill was an option, it was still unacceptable to do. Kaede's face widened as her back side now felt empty. "Kohta!"

The tanned boy was simply too tired to fight any longer as he had also taken too much damage during the start of the conflict till now. "Shit!" as she was now defending every angle from attack.

"Oneesan!"

Kaede turned to see Nyu being held closely by Adachi as he held a knife to her throat.

"I believe you've had your fun already. So I think you should give up now".

"You bastard!"

In that moment of distraction, a small piercing sensation hit her arm as a cool liquid feeling shot through it. With that she blacked out.

* * *

"Uhhh, what happened?" as the horned girl slowly opened her eyes. But upon opening them her head felt like splitting open. "Damn, what the hell happened?"

"I see you're awake".

She immediately refocused to see Adachi sneering at her. At her attempt to punch him she quickly found she couldn't as her arms and legs were now bounded. She then winced as her headache hit her again. "_I'm too out of it to use my powers_".

"This is simply too rich" laughed the delinquent boy. "It's like hitting two birds with one stone plus a little extra on the side" as he stepped aside to reveal his other prisoner.

"Kohta!" The tanned youth was firmly mounted to the chair with no option of doing anything else but watch as his mouth was gagged with his arms and legs pinned down.

"Who would have thought that the situation would turn out like this? It's like something out of a hentai book". He chuckled. "There sitting at our mercy is the boyfriend who must watch helplessly as his two closest friends get deflowered and ravaged as he is completely and utterly powerless to do anything about it". Adachi began to laugh. "This is just too good that I can't stand it". He then reached out grabbing Kaede by the chin. "Don't you worry I'm going to make sure he's watching as I do it right in front of him".

In retaliation the horned girl spat in his face. "You probably couldn't get it up even if you wanted too" she taunted.

Adachi then punched her in the stomach to which Kaede coughed out saliva. ". . . . _Haven't felt a hit like this in a while_".

"Since you're so eager then why don't we start now".

The thug leader then grabbed her by the hair as he dragged her in front of Kohta. Kaede bit down hard not wanting to give him the satisfaction of her pain.

"_You bastard!_" as he struggled in his chair.

"You know I've never liked you" said Adachi. "With your honest face and goody two shoe behavior it sickens me to my stomach. But I do hope you enjoy the show I'm going to put on". At that note he ripped open Kaede's dress shirt while simultaneously trying to pull off her skirt.

The horned girl resisted the best she could to keep herself clothed, but immediately more guys came in to pin her down to cease her struggling. "_Damn it_" cried Kaede internally. Never in her life had she ever been this vulnerable before. Not only was she unable to protect her sister and Kohta, but now she could not even protect her own body. "_Mother . . . . Nyu . . . . Kohta . . . ._ "

"_God damn it!_" as Kohta struggled harder to escape. But more guys arrived to solidly plant him to the ground.

"Never thought you would show a face like that" said Adachi. "I'm definitely going to enjoy this".

Meanwhile Nyu was decisively left for 'dessert' after they were done with the 'main course'.

"_I don't want this_" as tears streamed down her face. "_Please get up oneesan, you were always so strong and you never lost before. So get up now . . . ._"

Several emotions then grasped her chest as the weight of the situation threatened to crush her at any moment. "_Please Kohta-kun . . . . save oneesan. I don't want this to happen__". _She closed her eyes as memories of all the times they had together flooded her head. "_I don't want this, I don't want this, I don't want this_" she repeatedly chanted.

She then heard Kaede scream with all her might trying to fight back with all she had left. While Kohta continued to struggle from his captors.

Nyu's eyes then became shadowed underneath her bangs. "_Oneesan . . . . oneesan . . . . oneesan . . . . oneesan . . . . _"

The scared girl then clenched her teeth as an unbearable feeling began to contort in her chest.

"Stop it . . . . please stop it . . . . "

"Ehh, what was that?" said Nyu's holder.

In one extreme burst of rage. "Stop hurting my oneesan!"

On that declaration a huge burst of wind picked up knocking everyone within two yards of her away. Her restraints where then cut as she then stood up looking in the direction of where her two special people were.

"What the hell was that?"

"Was that a bomb or something?"

"How did she get free?'

Questions and statements circumvented the area, but Nyu cared nothing of them as she was still locked in her emotions as she walked towards Kohta and Kaede.

"What are you morons doing?" said Adachi. "Go put her back in the chair!"

At that command several of his henchmen tried but failed to restrain her as they appeared to have been thrown several feet away prior to hitting an invisible wall of sorts.

Kaede seeing an opening to her side then expressed shock at what she saw. "Nyu . . . . those arms . . . . have you awakened too?"

More delinquents tried but failed to stop her as Nyu continued to move forward.

"She's . . . . She's a monster!"

"Let's get out of here!"

"You idiots! what are you doing?" yelled Adachi.

In a mere few minutes the abandoned building quickly became vacant as the only members that stood in the room were herself, Kohta, Kaede, and the soon to be dead troublemaker.

"Get back!" he threatened as nervous sweat ran down his face. "Or I'll kill her I swear!"

But without any need to talk the delinquent leader was thrown off as he was sent flying to the wall.

"What the hell are you? . . . . what the . . . . ?" as he soon found himself being lifted into the air. Then the next moment a strong grip wrapped around his neck. Adachi began to cough as he struggled for air.

"Nyu stop! It's over now!" called Kaede.

"I can't stop" cried Nyu. "The hurting won't stop . . . . it just won't stop". The sad girl placed her hands over her heart as she caved into herself.

"It's over already. You can put him down now" said Kaede as she attempted to calm her sister down. "There is no need to kill him".

"But . . . . but . . . . it hurts so much. He hurt you and Kohta-kun. I don't know what to do with all this pain".

The pink diclonius looked up to see Adachi still struggling for air. To be truthful, she wouldn't mind if a pig bastard like him died here and now. Besides, they probably would have been doing the world a favor by removing such scum from human society.

However that was a sin she couldn't let her sister bare. As she promised her mother, she would protect Nyu and that included keeping her soul clean of blood. She then got up and wrapped her arms around Nyu's waist as she leaned her head on her shoulder.

The ditzy girl tensed before settling down.

"It's OK now, you can stop".

"Oneesan . . . ." and with those soothing words it was over as Nyu put the horrified boy down as he was at any moment about to wet his pants.

Kaede looked up to see Adachi still looking wide eyed at them. At that action she released her hold on Nyu as she walked right up to him. "This will be the last time we speak. If you ever talk about this again you will not live to see another sun rise".

At that action the boy let loose his bowels as he nodded quickly before getting up and running away.

The pink diclonius sighed as she then turned about and went to release Kohta.

Upon his freedom he immediately hugged her. "I'm . . . . so glad . . . . you're safe"

Kaede who was momentarily stunned from the action then softly returned his hug. "Thank you".

"I'm just so happy" cried Nyu as she grasped them both.

"Nyu your powers, your powers, stop using your powers" her sister exhaled.

"Sorry" the girl chuckled.

"Now what?" then asked Kohta as he looked around to see many cameras littering the ground.

"We destroy them. There's no need for anyone to learn of what has happened here".

"But we'll be destroying evidence!"

"True, but it's a small price to pay to keep our secret safe" as she looked to see Nyu's vectors still deployed.

* * *

That day, the incident was soon put behind them. Although the twins at times suffered minor trauma flashbacks, it too was eventually put behind them thanks in part of their friends support.

Onto other things everyone was amazed that Nyu developed her powers. Not too surprising since her sister had the same abilities. But more unsettling in how she planned to use them.

At first, Nyu's spontaneous personality caused things to apparently blow up. But due to possible property damage and the high chances of fatal injuries, she was then subjugated to control training courtesy of her sister to which she would whack her over the head with a harisen every time she messed up. In due time, she learned to control them without too much trouble.

But elsewhere trouble was brewing for the twin dicloniuses.

It has been two months since that day he walked out of the building alive.

Adachi sat on his bed holding his head as bags formed under his eyes from the lack of sleep.

"What are those monsters? What the hell are they?" he repeatedly asked himself every night and day. Every time he tried to sleep he would see their faces in his dreams as they killed him over and over again. In time his delusions eventually evolved to the point where he needed to take anti-psychotics as well as strong sedatives to keep himself from going over the edge as well as getting at least a few hours a sleep a day.

But this routine soon began to overwhelm him as he was now on the breaking point. "I can't take this anymore". He then got up and went to his closet and brought out a box. At revealing its contents, he began to laugh hysterically about what he was going to do.

* * *

The four friends that morning entered school like it was any other day. Saying their morning pleasantries, getting harassed by their own individual fan clubs, and every other usual thing that happened on their usual day.

"Who is that?" asked Yuka as she saw a ragged dirty looking individual standing before them.

"Is that . . . ." to which Kohta's eyes looked on in shock.

"Adachi!" said Kaede venomously. "What are you doing here?"

"mo . . s . . . .er . . . . "

"Huh?"

At first he was barely audible, but soon it became clear of what he was trying to say.

"Monster, monster, monster, monster" he chanted.

"He's gone completely crazy" said Kaede as she looked to what remained of the delinquent leader.

"Die!" Adachi then screamed. Out of nowhere, he pulled out a small .45 revolver and pointed it at Nyu. Just as he pulled the trigger, time seemed to have stood still.

Kaede watched in shock as blood splattered onto her uniform as the boy she loved pushed her sister out of the way.

"Kohta!"

To be continued . . . .

* * *

Author's notes: Nyu has finally awakened and everyone seems to have reacted . . . . OK to it. But now things have turned for the worst for the male protagonist of the series. So how will he pull through? How will Nyu react? And just as importantly, how will Kaede react from seeing her special friend lay dying on the ground in front of her.

But if anyone has noticed there are a few words I refuse to write. I apologize for the obscurity, but there are some words I refuse to ever say out load or ever mention in any form.

By the way, internet cookies for the person who figures out what inspired some the story references.

**Snowy-Sonia** – As much as I would love to see them gone, I have to let them live since I don't want Kaede tasting blood just yet. Plus it'll be important much later in the story why it has to be like this.

**TURP** – I'm all for 'just deserts', but if cops got involved covering up their powers and horns would be a problem since there would be a chance that Kakuzawa's organization would catch wind of them.

**CodelyokoFan23** – Thank you for your compliment.

**alvarorbenavides** – Your interest in this story is just as much appreciated.

**KTWizard** – Thank you for reading and I don't ever let bad guys win in my story . . . . unless it's for an important reason.

So I thank you all for reading my fic and I further extend my gratitude if you can review it as well.


	21. Understanding

Chapter 21: Understanding

Synopsis: Something new has always appeared around the corner for humans to learn. It's always been human curiosity to try and understand it. But how far is one willing to take it? And when is it until something begins to become too much? So long there exists responsibility then things should be fine in the end.

Reminder: I do not own Elfen Lied or any characters associated with it

"talking"

_thoughts_

_

* * *

_

"Kohta!"

Her eyes bulged at seeing him fall. She instantly appeared behind to catch him before he fell.

"I guess I did something reckless again . . . ." he half-chuckled.

"Idiot! You Idiot! You didn't have to do that! I could've done something". Kaede began to cry as she braced her hand over his wound. "Don't die . . . ."

She then looked up to see Adachi now pointing his gun at them. "Die monster . . . ."

But before he could pull the trigger the barrel was bent back by an invisible hand followed by him being thrown a distance away.

Nyu who revived from her shock made quick work of his weapon before angrily throwing him away from her two most important people.

Adachi sat up only to be forced down again as the surrounding students piled onto him. They then restrained him as some of the student body were 'forced' to pacify him through 'necessary action'.

Kaede began to apply more force onto his wound to stop the bleeding.

But Kohta was starting to drift into unconsciousness as he felt like every pain receptor in his body was on fire.

"Someone call an ambulance!"

"He's been shot!"

"Get the school nurse. They might be able to do something".

The pink diclonius looked up to see a small crowd form while others went to go get help. Nyu ran off towards the nurse's office while Yuka went off to notify the proper authorities.

This just left Kaede trying to keep her special person from leaving this world.

"_The bullet is still inside him_".

Kaede speculated whether or not she should attempt to remove the bullet from his body.

Kohta cringed in pain again as blood spilled out from his mouth.

"_I have to do something_".

She knew her psychic arms couldn't harm anyone so long as she maintained precise control over them. With slight hesitation she began her operation as she lowered her vector into the wound.

"_Where could it be . . ._ _._"

Kaede began to sweat nervously as she felt around for where the bullet was. If she slipped up for even a moment she would be putting Kohta's life into further danger.

"_I should not be doing this . . . ._"

However the youth had already lost too much blood and any further damage would have proven fatal. So she needed to raise his chances at survival by removing any foreign object while reducing blood loss.

After a moment of searching she eventually found the bullet and slowly began to reel it back through the damaged sections. She then lifted her hand up to find the object now there.

"_Thank goodness I managed to retrieve it_".

Kohta then began to violently shake as he appeared to be in greater pain.

"_What happened? I thought I removed it perfectly_".

Kaede bit down as her eyes clenched shut trying not to cry. "Please don't die . . . ." she hiccupped.

She then sent her vectors into the wound trying to close up any damaged section she could find.

Feeling around, she felt a few punctures in his organ to which she immediately began to plug up the best she could.

However blood continued to seep into different sections of his body.

"Please bare with me Kohta . . . ."

The boy yelped in pain at feeling his insides pinched.

At this time she began to move the torn tissue over the holes as she forcefully began to press them closed.

"_I've managed to stop the bleeding . . . . for now_".

She then exhaled in relief at keeping him somewhat stable.

Soon, the E.M.T.'s arrived to pick the boy up as he was rushed to the hospital with everyone who mattered to him accompanying along.

Like a well oiled machine the hospital staff quickly got Kohta into surgery with Kaede, Nyu, Yuka, and their legal guardian sitting outside waiting for the news of his condition.

After a few minutes in, the head surgeon walked out wearing a neutral expression on his face.

At looking at his features, it seemed the news was none too pleasing.

"How is he doctor? Is he going to live?"

The surgeon removed his face mask as he looked to the group. "Well the thing is . . . ."

* * *

A little over a month passed since that day . . . .

"We are all gathered here today to see our loved ones off".

Many people cried around the casket as they looked to the recently deceased.

"Although he will be missed let us all rejoice that he is now in God's loving care. Now let us all have a silent prayer that his immortal soul be taken care of for all time".

Crying could then be heard amongst the group as the weight of his death pulled heavily on them.

"Is there something wrong oneesan?" asked Nyu.

"No" she replied half bored.

"Why? Why did he have to die?" cried out a woman as she knelt over the coffin.

"This is getting lame" as Kaede got up to leave.

"Shouldn't you turn off the T.V.?"

"Something good will pop up later. I'll be back".

In the living room Nyu sat down to watch the soap opera while her sister went to get something to eat.

"You shouldn't sit around like that. You'll turn into a couch potato".

Kaede turned to smile at her companion. "Would you like to join us Kohta? A good show is going to be on soon".

"Sure".

The two quickly made popcorn as they returned to the couch to watch television.

"Ahh, Kohta-kun is joining us" smiled Nyu.

The boy smiled back as he took his seat followed with Kaede sitting next to him.

The horned girl turned to smile at him. "_What an unusual development_".

* * *

~ Flashback ~

"It was the most unusual thing I've ever seen" said the surgeon. "For all I could tell he just suffered a minor flesh wound. But how he lost all that blood I have no idea. It's quite the medical mystery. However he will need to stay in bed for a while for transfusions as well as observations to ensure everything will be OK".

"But he was shot! Are you sure everything is OK?"

"All I have to say is that boy was quite lucky it wasn't anything too serious. Now if you'll excuse me I have to see to other things".

The waiting party felt instant relief at knowing he was going to make it.

However Kaede didn't understand how such a thing could happen. He was shot after all and all she did was plug up the damage. But how it ended up just a flesh wound made her question how that was even possible. Of course she was happy, but curiosity soon set in.

Some time passed as she sat in her room looking at her hand.

"What are you doing?" questioned Nyu.

Kaede didn't look back as she continued to concentrate on her task. "Cutting myself".

"Ehh?"

The ditzy girl walked up to see a huge gash along her palm. "You're bleeding! I'll go get a band aid!"

But before she could leave she was stopped as her sister grabbed her wrist. "There's no need for that".

"What?" As to answer her question the cut was immediately closed like nothing ever happened.

"What did you do?" Nyu then looked to see as one of her sister's vectors appear to be . . . . pinching the wound closed? "How did you do that?"

Kaede smirked at her successful experiment.

For a long time now she never really looked into or more precisely cared how her powers actually worked. As far as she was concerned they were psychic arms that popped out whenever she summoned them and did everything a normal arm did but with greater length and grip power.

But looking at it from a different perspective, how were they capable of cutting things?

Initially when she wanted to cut things, those arms would just do it without trouble. Now how they cut things was still a mystery.

As to quench her curiosity she underwent multiple experimentations to try and understand the exact level of what she was capable of. Of course through the years she knew she could cut right through human flesh and steel easily, but what about other things? Rocks, reinforced glass, several layers of hardened metal, and many others easily submitted to her will. However they brought her no closer to an answer.

For a while she was at her wits end about how it even functioned. But inspiration soon came knocking after watching a television program. After viewing that certain commercial it hit her like a ton of bricks allowing her to formulate the theoretical basis of her powers.

The working theory after many tries was that her vectors functioned like an oscillator.

In that fundamental idea, she had the ability to vibrate her psychic hands to supersonic levels to the extent of surpassing any modern day tool in relative frequency. This meant in a sense she wasn't actually cutting things, but more so vibrating objects apart on the molecular scale giving the illusion of being severed as she passed through them.

Concerning Kohta's rapid healing and the theory thus far, then maybe perhaps there was another way to how her psychic arms could work. If supersonic oscillations could separate objects, then couldn't the reverse be true?

Initial stages proved less favorable as objects blew up every time she tried to mend things together.

Through trial and error she discovered that the two separate objects must be vibrating at the exact same carrier wave in respect to their molecular integrity in order to successfully fuse the two back together.

Of course trying to fuse two completely different things together seemed quite impossible. However it might be workable someday given more time.

Just as interestingly, she seemed to be able to affect other things in biological organisms being the physiological functions. From simple studying, she seemed to be able to manipulate the effects of glands by being able to reduce or increase the amount of hormones, enzymes, and proteins that circulated throughout the human system. The possibilities of what she could do with this ranged into the infinite. But that was something she would deal with later.

Now aside from getting to better know how her vectors worked she discovered that something new was born in her or perhaps has always been there.

It seemed she and Nyu developed some form of telepathy as she was able to sense and listen to the presence and thoughts of her sister and vice versa. But more interesting then that (or possibly disturbing) was that they were not alone.

In days of developing this sense she wasn't able to feel other people like Kohta, Yuka, or Kanae. But she did feel others, many others.

At opening this new ability, it felt like an ocean of lights that surrounded her. But after some careful observations it seemed like those lights were disappearing and being moved somewhere else very far away. This fact concerned her greatly.

But one day she felt a light close by and decided to reach out to it.

"_Hello_" she thought out.

"_Who is this?_"

"_My name is Hikaru Kaede, who are you?_"

"_My name is Yuri, it's nice to meet you_".

This conversation went on for days as the pink diclonius got to know more about this girl. Even Nyu talked a few times with her. However that is when things began to degrade.

"_They are after us. Those men are after us. Please help_".

"_What are you talking about? What is going on?_"

"_Those men are here to capture people like us. They are using us to find our own kind_".

"_Our own kind? What do you mean?_"

"_There_ _are many of us out there. Those men . . . . are using us to find each other. I have to go now_".

"_Wait! What are you talking about?_"

"_Hide, and keep hiding. This will be the last time we talk_".

Just like that her light completely disappeared. Kaede found this fact rather disturbing and began to refocus her and Nyu's training on hiding their presence. These were done as a series of hide and seek games which in time led to the desired result. But still she was concerned about who was nabbing people like them. Of course it most likely had something to do with those men all those years ago. But for now hiding was all that concerned her in relation to trying to discover who this mysterious enemy was.

As time continued on it was just repetition, practice, and focus to ensure their quiet lives remained quiet.

~ End Flashback ~

* * *

As the trio continued to watch the television a storm of thoughts surged through her mind at where life was taking them. It seemed an ordinary life was slowly beginning to become foreign to her. At first it seemed pretty cool to have powers. I mean what kid doesn't like the idea of being special. As life progressed things began to become more complicated. She now knew there were more people out there just like her. But they all seemed to be girls which probably meant that whatever they were was primarily linked genetically to their gender. But as it was now, it seemed people like her are being hunted from one reason or another. It didn't seem to matter if they were good or bad, they were all being gathered without prejudice by some enigmatic organization which spent a near endless amount of human and resource capital in finding them. These were the kind of things people would only see in anime or manga. But here it was something like this happening in the real world. This forced her and her sister to be a step ahead of whoever was after them. But for now enjoying the calm was not a bad idea either.

"Well there's nothing to do at the moment. Yuka and auntie are out running an errand and Kanae is visiting some friends. So what do you want to do?" asked Kohta.

"Let's go on a date" said Nyu as she clasped her hands together.

"Dates are usually one on one, not an entire group" replied Kaede. "Do you know how odd that would be?"

"Then why not go as friends?" smiled Kohta.

The pink diclonius thought carefully about this. "It's OK, why don't you two both go out. I can hold down the fort here". But the truth is she wanted to go as well.

For a while now she gave some thought about what she was going to do with the complex relationship that had formed between Kohta and the two of them. But trying to be selfless (which was hard concerning the situation) was difficult. She didn't want to give up on him and she'd be damned to surrender him to anyone. However Nyu was another case. It felt OK to fall out of the race and allow her to take the lead.

"What are you talking about? Don't be stubborn. So come on". The ditzy girl grabbed her arm as she dragged Kaede along.

"I said it was OK!"

The trio were then on their way to the destination. But before going there, they stopped along many attractions before arriving.

On the way, they visited many places ranging from shops, restaurants, cafes, and entertainment areas. But in time they eventually arrived to their intended place.

Now in the mid-afternoon, the trio sat quietly together as they each ate ice shavings.

"Kind of nostalgic don't you think?" asked Kohta.

"Yeah it is" said Kaede. "How long has it been since we've been here?"

"About six years give or take" replied Nyu.

The place they came too was the very first place they got to know each other.

"The zoo didn't seem to change much" said Kohta. "Although there seems to be a few new attractions it's just as I remembered it".

"It's nice to come back here" added in Nyu.

"Let's go take a walk around then" Kaede then said.

The trio walked around as they absorbed in the sights and sounds. Although Nyu was doing the leading as she guided the pair around by the arm.

Like a walk through memory lane they visited every place in their youth pointing out every animal they've seen. Just like that time six years ago Nyu was overly ecstatic with Kaede being swept along with the wave.

"A giraffe! A giraffe!" called Nyu excitedly.

"It's neck is so long! It's so long!" said Kaede.

Standing a distance away Kohta chuckled at the sight. "Talk about a blast from the past".

This spectacle continued for some time until they arrived to the place where Kohta felt the most embarrassed to return too.

"I think we should turn back now".

Kaede eyed the scenery before turning towards him sporting a devilish grin. "Well aren't you the pervert".

"You've got it wrong. It's nothing like that!"

"Like what? I didn't say anything and yet you're already jumping to conclusions. I never knew you had such a dirty mind".

"I said it's nothing like that". But immediately a splash of water hit his face knocking him out his original thought.

"The waters great" called Nyu as she danced around in it. She then shot off another volley of water as it hit her sister.

Kaede gave a chuckle. "We might as well indulge a child's desire".

"But we don't have any spare cloths not to mention its kind of inappropriate considering our age".

"Oh" she grinned. "Were you just having a dirty thought again?"

"I'm not getting into this conversation with you!"

A cold splash of water met his face again. "Then you won't mind playing with us will you".

At taking the bait Kohta was then absorbed into the water battle.

But after sometime they settled down and sat at the rocks to dry off.

Immediately Nyu threw out the suggestion that they strip to hurry up the process. However Kohta countered with how highly inappropriate it was in relation to their age to which Kaede backed him up on (thankfully).

"I'm going to go find some towels then. I'll be right back". Nyu soon left to retrieve the said items leaving them together.

At seeing her enthusiasm the pair chuckled.

They then climbed on top of a boulder under direct sunlight maintaining their view over the area. Kaede then scooted next to Kohta as he boldly wrapped his arm around her allowing her head to rest on his shoulder.

"I hope these good times last longer" Kaede whispered.

"Yeah . . . ."

"Kohta . . . ."

"Yeah?"

"I've been giving the concept of our relationship some thought and . . . . I want you to go with Nyu".

"Ehh, but I can't do that!"

Kaede chuckled at his reaction. "Pervert, I bet you love our attention and just want to keep the both of us for yourself".

"That isn't it at all" he flustered.

She chuckled again. "I know, I'm just teasing you".

"So . . . . what brought this on?"

The horned girl closed her eyes in thought before reopening them. "If it were any other girl I would never surrender your attention to anyone of them. But Nyu . . . .is my sister. I have an obligation in protecting her feelings. So it would be for the best if you went with her".

"Kind of putting me on the spot don't you think?"

"Sorry about that. But seeing all that has happened recently, getting attacked, almost losing you, and after all those discoveries, I don't want either of you to regret the time we have together".

"What about you? What about your happiness?"

Kaede grinned at his response as she gave him a light punch to the ribs. "Don't be greedy now. You should know better that you can't have both of us. We aren't a package deal you know".

"Not what I meant".

"I know, I was just teasing you again".

". . . ."

". . . ."

"But Kaede-san . . . . my heart hasn't made its decision yet".

"It's OK, we can all still be good friends". At saying those words, Kaede felt her heart clench.

"But Kaede-san . . . ."

"I'm back!" Nyu ran up to them as she gave a cute little pout. "And it's isn't fair that you were being all lovey dovey with oneesan. I want my turn too".

The pink diclonius gave a solemn look as a petite smile appeared. "I'll be going now. I wanted to go see to other things anyways. So take your time. I'll be waiting at the bus stop when you're done here".

As she walked off Kohta was very tempted to reach out and stop her. However he wouldn't have known what to say afterwards.

Nyu looked in surprise to her action. As a result a sad expression then appeared. "Oneesan . . . ."

Like all things, the day came to an end as they took the bus back home where they ended their trip on memory lane.

"The sunset is as beautiful as I remembered it" smiled Kaede.

"Yeah it is" said Kohta.

"Let's sing together like we did all those years ago" said Nyu with her trade mark sunny smile.

"That's kind of embarrassing to do now".

"It'll be fine" the ditzy girl chimed.

With that they all began that familiar tune until it was no longer the twilight. At finishing, they walked home to be greeted by family and friends as they all sat down for dinner with the enjoyment of each other's company. However in the air lingered a sense of restlessness from the events of that day.

* * *

Soon days began to fall off the calendar which turned into weeks, and then into months until two years had eventually passed. Although Kaede had made her request apparent nothing much had changed between them as Kohta was still hanging around her with Nyu following along as she always did. But this was something that wasn't going to resolve itself anytime soon. As if fate was making their decision for them, it would soon become time for how their story will continue on from there.

Now it was their last year in high school with the entire gang being seniors. After graduation the sky is the limit to what a person will choose to do with their lives. But the event to which will decide how the story will continue will be based on the situation known to all high school students . . . . senior prom.

To be continued . . . .

* * *

Author's notes: We've almost reached the main story. Just one more chapter until we arrive at the time where Kohta 'first meets' a mysterious horned girl on the beach. I would also like to thank everyone who has stuck with me for this long as this was the second thing I ever wrote. I also do apologize if my writing sucks making it hard to read and understand.

Now on another note this was how I understood their vector powers by physical law. There was simply no other scientific way I could think of that could describe how vectors could possibly cut anything let alone put things back together.

Also if you're looking for references, near the end of the manga Kohta was fatally injured as Lucy/Kaede/Nyu body was falling apart. So as a last ditch effort she used some of her own skin to heal Kohta keeping him from dying. Now I don't know exactly how it worked but this was my interpretation.

In addition they did show some level of telepathic communication in chapter 74 between Nana and number 28. However the range and depth to it is something that wasn't quite explored. But seeing as Lucy/Kaede/Nyu is supposed to be one of the strongest there is I kind of figured her telepathic range could reach pretty far as it will show later.

**Snowy-Sonya** – Unfortunately not quite. Although the student body did rough him up quite a bit *cough* broken bones everywhere *cough*. But there will be other characters later on that will have to be dealt with in a much harsher manner.

**alvarorbenvides** – Yep, the main story is just around the corner now.

**TURP** – Indeed, however there real value didn't exist in how powerful they were but the fact that Lucy/Kaede/Nyu are the only diclonius on record with the ability to reproduce.

**itsuken** – Welcome and thank you for reviewing, and yes Kohta does get injured far too often in the main story.

Once again I would like to thank everyone who has taken an interest in this story thus far. If you liked what you've read so far we haven't even entered the main story where the Elfen Lied series even began. So buckle your seat belts and hold onto your hats because things are about to get rolling soon.


	22. Graduation

Chapter 22: Graduation

Synopsis: When one thing ends another will begin. Everything in life exists from cause to effect as finishing one thing will then lead into something new. But what happens from there is all on the basis of choice.

Reminder: I do not own Elfen Lied or any characters associated with it

"talking"

_thoughts_

_

* * *

_

It was now the last few weeks of school with Kaede and the gang getting things in order for their graduation.

Within the coming of a few days the group ended up all being accepted to the same local university. Of course there were better options and not saying that their choice was bad, but this way they could all be together. With that out of the way all they needed to do was set up their housing arrangement since on campus dormitories was already too expensive. But according to Yuka she already had it handled whatever it was.

Due to Kaede's graduation she had to choose someone to replace her position as S.D.S. chief.

"What? You want me?"

The pink diclonius nodded her head as she grinned at Kohta's little sister. A year ago, Kanae decided to attend the same high school wanting to stay with the group. Right off the bat she ended up joining the S.D.S. In her career as a disciplinary student she easily became one of the best. So of course she was one of the best choices available.

Promoting her to chief was a decent choice in itself. During her role in those three years, Kaede pretty much pacified the school system much to the thanks and relief of the student council and teaching staff. So it was just a matter of keeping the peace which she knew Kanae could handle.

Onto to others things, academics weren't much of an issue seeing as their group easily got into all their college choices. In addition to getting a scholastic scholarship, they also received one from their individual fields of interest.

Kaede's achievement was from her violin playing.

Nyu's beautiful singing.

The athletic performance went to Kohta.

And community service went to Yuka.

So with everything already put into motion there was just one last thing that the group had to consider in relation to their final week as high school students before going off to college.

"I'm not going" said Kaede indifferently as she was at the moment assisting in the kitchen for dinner preparations.

"But why not?" Nyu complained as she too was assisting with kitchen duties.

"I simply don't want to go. First off I don't have a dress to wear, it's a waste of time and money, and if you haven't noticed yet I don't have a date to the prom".

"Then why not go as a group with Kohta? Yuka will be coming as well".

Kaede sighed at that statement. "Yuka is going because she has someone to go with, and didn't Kohta already ask you out?"

Nyu pressed her index fingers together in slight embarrassment. "He hasn't actually . . . . asked me yet . . . ."

The horned girl looked to her sister in curiosity. "He hasn't asked you yet?"

"Well he sort of did, but I kind of asked him . . . . to make another addition . . . ."

Kaede then returned back to her task. "What are you talking about?"

"Well . . . . I kind of told him . . . . that . . . . you'd be also coming along with us" as she blurted out the last part.

The pink diclonius immediately stopped what she was doing as she turned around glaring at the thoughtless (yet thoughtful) act her sister did. "Why did you do that?"

"You shouldn't be left home alone on one of the last nights we have as seniors. So I think it would have been best if you come along with us" Nyu smiled.

A vein mark then appeared on her head at being frustrated of her sister's antics. "I expect you to go fix this with Kohta right now".

"But it's already too late for that".

" . . . . Why is that?"

"Kohta-kun has already bought the tickets plus Yuka-chan has already planned to take you out for a dress. So it would be a waste if you didn't come. Plus the tickets are non-refundable".

Kaede gave herself a face palm at the situation she was forced into. It seemed for all her efforts of trying to get Kohta and Nyu together was going to waste. It was true that she wanted to go and be with Kohta and dance with him at least once. However due to circumstances, Nyu's feelings for him rivaled her own. Unlike herself, the ditzy girl was far too fragile emotionally to take rejection very well.

In addition, Kohta himself hasn't completely made up his mind about what he wanted to do. So in attempting to force his hand she tried to push Nyu onto him. But apparently it yielded very little effect as their little love triangle was getting no closer to a duet. With all her efforts, it was a lost cause as their relationship would immediately reestablish itself back to the status quo between the trio.

Kaede blushed at the thought of going with Kohta to the prom. "_This is not turning out the way it was supposed to . . . ._"

"What are you doing?"

The twins looked to the doorway to see Yuka waving at them to stop what they are doing.

"Mother is coming in. You have to stop that right now!" she exclaimed in a whisper.

Nyu and Kaede looked around to see many floating items with knifes cutting into meat, vegetables being peeled, soup in the middle of being prepared, and dishes being washed. They both then immediately dropped what they were doing as all the seemingly ghost possessed items dropped lifelessly to their places.

Over the years the pair has been getting better at controlling their vectors. To this degree, the sisters were now able to effectively multi-task easily finishing the job of an entire army or working staff on their own in the exact amount of time it would take.

Now from an outsider's point of view it would have been one of the most amazing tricks you've ever seen. But seeing as this world was filled with misunderstandings it was best left as something unseen or simply passed off as a good magic trick.

"Sorry for the trouble" said Yuka's mother as she now entered the room. "Wow, it looks like you pretty much got everything done. I swear you two have the work power of an entire army. You two will be fine wives someday".

All the teen girls gave a nervous chuckle to the response.

* * *

After finishing their preparations, Yuka and Nyu dragged Kaede to the mall to go shopping. Now aside from them, the later was the only one who didn't have anything prepared seeing as she wasn't expecting to go in the first place.

Hygiene products were easily marked off the list, the next to go was lipstick and make-up, then the shoes, and finally the most important yet difficult thing to take care of.

"I'm not wearing this dress" stated Kaede plainly at viewing herself in the mirror.

"Why not oneesan?"

"If my goal was to give every guy there a nosebleed then this would be fine. But this design is far too liberal for my taste".

"What about this one?" Yuka suggested.

" . . . . If I were going to a monastery, then that would suffice . . . ."

Dress after dress the two girls were having a fun time treating Kaede like a mannequin doll. Of course she would complain, but they were simply having too much fun dressing her up each time.

It even got to the point where she attempted to run away only for Nyu to reel her back in like a fish with her vectors.

In a pain staking two hour fitting Kaede finally found the dress she was most comfortable with.

"_Not bad_" she blushed as she looked into the mirror. The dress she chose had a liberal yet formal feel to it. It hugged her body quite nicely as the dress was not so tight or loose to wear.

It was a nice design overall for a strapless dress. The base was primarily light pink with a silk white overlay accompanied with some cute embroidered designs. It also came with an arm veil to wrap around herself.

She then did a twirl to get a better look. On first glance the dress really did do a good job at enhancing some of her physical features.

Kaede smiled at her appearance as she could only imagine what Kohta would think.

"Kawaii" said Nyu.

"You look wonderful" Yuka then added in.

"Thank you".

* * *

Now on the day of question, everyone was getting prepared for the big event.

Kaede, Nyu, and Yuka along with her mother helped each other in their preparations. In grueling one hour duration, everyone's hair was done. It then followed with lips, eye shadow, than make-up. Eventually they got their dresses on.

It then proceeded with pictures as the girls all posed together.

"So how are you doing?"

Kohta looked over to see Yuka's date. Earlier he was asked to quickly prepare and then wait outside to which he met him. "I'll never understand girls and their need for perfection".

"Yeah" he chuckled.

"Yeah" the tanned youth chuckled back.

". . . ."

". . . ."

"So I'm here with Yuka-san, and you?"

"Complicated . . . ."

"Huh? What do you mean by that?"

"Very complicated . . . ."

The boy thought about it carefully. He knew the Hikaru twins were living at the same house. So with simple reasoning it was kind of obvious he was either going with Nyu or Kaede. "_What a lucky jerk_", not that he was complaining or he had a problem with Yuka but the fact was the Hikaru twins were one of the most sought after in the entire school. In the three years of their high school career, the pair massed a great amount of attention from everything they were involved in. Academics, sports, the arts, they were pretty much the star in everything they did.

Not to mention they had quite the appealing figures which would be considered quite attractive amongst the masses if left up to a majority vote. Curves in all the right places, decent bust level, pale skin, big shiny eyes, silky soft hair, good personalities, they were pretty much compared to that of a princess of the old days.

In the hypothetical event that a guy managed to get the chance to even date them, the question they would have to ask themselves is if they liked it sweet or bitter? The sisters were equal to each other in every way. But the only thing that set them apart was their base personalities being Nyu and Kaede respectfully.

"_Hmm, who could it be_" the boy thought. "_Nyu-san has been disregarding every guy who asked although she was being very sweet about it each time. Kaede-san was another case as she would bluntly tell them no_". Yuka's date then looked over as he continued to scan this even further. "_Kohta is a rather popular guy even though he would never admit it and he is usually hanging around them. But considering his choices it would most likely have to be Nyu-san as Kaede-san didn't seem the type to go_". But even after his inquiry he still had to ask. "So who are you going with?"

Kohta gave a nervous chuckle as he was uncertain in how to answer it. "Well I'm kind of going with . . . ."

But then the front door opened to reveal Nyu looking quite beautiful as she smiled to the two boys. "Come on in, we're taking pictures at the moment".

The pair then walked in to see both Yuka and Kaede. At seeing them the boy's eyebrow perched as he then looked around. "_Why is Kaede-san all dressed up? And where is her date?_"

Kohta then walked up to the said girl as he scratched his cheek while sporting a small smile. "You look very beautiful Kaede-san".

"Thank you" as she blushed while giving a soft smile.

Now unable to restrain his curiosity any further he just had to know. "Kaede-san, who are you going with?"

The horned girl looked over before slightly averting her eyes. "I'm going with Kohta".

"Then who is Nyu-san going with?"

"Kohta-kun" she simply stated.

" . . . . Ehh?" His mind took time to register what that meant. But when it finally sunk in he was completely at a loss for words.

* * *

Now at the dance the group began to mingle in with everyone else who was there. It was quite a pleasant time as they all enjoyed their company.

As songs began to play Kaede watched from afar as her sister and her love interest danced together.

True, she was feeling anxious and envious of not being able to do that same thing with him. But like every kind of social event she had her hands full with dimwits trying to do things that made them look 'cool'. For the most part it was just a bunch of morons trying to spike the drinks. But with quick intervention it wasn't much of problem. With administrators around it made her job relatively easy even though her only job at the moment was to be there and have fun.

During the course of that night many noticed her to be dateless and simply watching as her sister and Kohta were having fun with each other.

Some who were bold enough attempted to ask a dance from her. But to no surprise they were immediately rejected as she continued to sit there nonchalantly observing the area. Although there was much speculation it was kind of obvious to whom she wanted to dance with.

Now on the final draw of the night Kaede sat calmly at her table as she drank a hot cup of tea. It was apparent that it was the final song but it was fine to sit it out as she wanted Nyu to enjoy her time with Kohta. However that was not going to be the case.

"Oneesan, it's your turn now".

The pink diclonius looked up to see her sister giving her that goofy smile again. "I was only forced to come along. Nothing said I had to dance".

"But Kohta-kun is waiting out there for you".

"But aren't you with him? This is the final song isn't it?"

"Yeah, but I want you to share this moment with him".

Kaede was now feeling the temptation in wanting to take this offer up. "Just go with Kohta, I'm fine with drinking my tea here".

"_You can't lie to me oneesan_".

Her eyes then slightly stretched in reaction to what she was doing. "Stop that! You know we're not supposed to do that remember. The others can track us like that".

"_Don't lie to me anymore oneesan . . . ._"

Kaede sighed, "_What are you talking about?_"

"_Although you don't say it I can still feel what you feel, and I know you love Kohta-kun as much as I do and wish to be with him as well_".

"_That isn't true! I already chose to let him go!_"

Nyu shook her head. "_You don't have to lie to yourself anymore. Just go to him_".

"_But I . . . .!_"

But before she could say anymore she was softly guided up by Nyu's vectors as she was pushed along to Kohta who was waiting on the dance floor. At apparently having no choice she rubbed her arm as she slowly made her way to him.

"It's good to have you here" the tanned youth smiled.

"Yeah, it is" she blushed.

Being the final event of the night, it was a slow song for all the couples who wanted to spend this together as if frozen in time.

At the start of the tune the pair took each other's hands as they began to move along the floor.

Kaede looked up to Kohta's face only for him smile down at her forcing her to look away with a blush.

Anyone who saw this scene had to swear it was one of the cutest things they've ever saw.

As the song progressed other couples began to slowly leave the floor in understanding the atmosphere they were feeling.

The horned girl soon began to relax herself into the mood as she laid her head onto Kohta's chest inhaling his scent. "_How wonderful . . . ._"

Nyu's heart warmed at feeling and hearing her sister's emotions.

As the song began to draw to an end Kaede wrapped her arms around Kohta's back as he soon did the same. In this time they both relished the feel of how close they were. Everyone who was watching could definitely feel the love that emanated between them.

Although they were quite aware of their denial of it, actions spoke louder than words as the scene was clearly in front of them now.

With the song coming to an end the childhood friends looked into each other's eyes as their feelings were quite transparent to each other.

And feeling the moment was right, they leaned into one another as their lips met slowly and softly while gradually reflecting their passion.

At getting caught up in the moment Kaede slipped her tongue into his mouth as she had Kohta play along with her. They then held each other tightly not wanting this to end as they both began to dip further into the other wanting to feel more.

However they soon had to stop as the surrounding crowd began to whistle and clap at their ending performance.

The pair separated in embarrassment as they gave off a nervous chuckle, but then looked to each other with a soft smile. They then returned back to their table as everyone continued to congratulate and applaud them at how beautifully they ended their senior prom.

"That was very cute" smiled Nyu as she was sitting at their table holding her head up with both her arms.

The pair nervously chuckled at the comment.

"But the night isn't over yet. We still have one more thing to do to remember this time good-bye".

Kohta and Kaede looked to her quizzically at what that was supposed to mean.

* * *

With the ending of the prom along with Nyu's insistence they all soon found themselves at really nice hot spring resort.

As the ditzy girl retrieved the card to her room they were soon escorted through the building to their designated area.

Upon entering they looked to see how amazing the room was as it was beautifully decorated and furnished with everything one would need to live quite comfortably for quite a while.

At closing the door Kohta turned to look at the orchestrator as he still didn't understand what the point was to all this or even for the matter how Nyu managed to acquire this room. "Umm, Nyu-san why are we here?"

The girl in question turned around as she jumped onto him while simultaneously wrapping her arms around his neck planting a wet one. "Do you have to ask?"

Kaede still didn't understand where this was going at she looked at the scene before her. "What are you planning?"

Nyu looked to her sister before giving her a sunny smile. "I was thinking for a while now, and what I decided on is why don't we share Kohta-kun together?"

". . . ."

". . . ."

". . . ."

". . . . Ehh?" was the only thing the pair could do at the outrageous suggestion the ditzy girl had made.

"How can you come up with such a ridiculous idea?" exclaimed Kaede as she was now deep crimson at the perverted plan her sister had managed to concoct. She then began to shake her wildly trying to make her come back to her senses. But then her eyes widened as her features darkened while staring at their male companion with the same blush from before. "This was your idea wasn't it?"

Kohta's face flashed red as he began to wave his hands frantically. "I swear this wasn't my idea!"

"I told you that you couldn't have us both and yet you sink to this level to let my sister do the dirty work for you? You know how morally wrong this is! I can't even tell you how many of my principles are being broken right now!" She then grasped his coat jacket as she began to shake him back and forth. "You better make this right you jerk and tell Nyu not to do this!"

"But it was my idea" cutely stated Nyu as she pointed to herself.

Kaede stopped what she was doing as she faced her sister once more. "You understand we can't do this, right?"

The ditzy girl tilted her head. "Why is that? I'm fine with it".

The horned girl flinched at the blunt comeback. "It's just simply wrong, and besides why would you want to do such a thing in the first place? A person's first time shouldn't be like this. It should be something special shared between two people that are really in love you know".

Nyu gave a cute smile to the explanation. "But we all love each other equally don't we?"

Kohta and Kaede were taken back from that question.

"Well yes" answered the tanned youth. "But you see Nyu-san something like this isn't something that should be done or said so casually. So shouldn't you reconsider?" But honestly somewhere in the back of his mind hidden behind his chivalry and righteousness he didn't want it to be reconsidered.

Nyu turned to her sister once more sporting a smile. "Oneesan, we've always been together and we've always shared everything together. So why not share Kohta-kun? We both love him and he loves us both so I don't see the problem at all".

Kaede flinched at her line of logic. "But Nyu" she stuttered, "it's just too awkward for something like this to be done and for you to talk light of it doesn't make it any better".

"And what about you Kohta-kun?" she said cutely. "Are you OK with it?"

"Ehh . . . . Umm . . . ." was all he could say as this was a tough spot he was placed in. He knew he shouldn't do it. But he didn't want to hurt either of their feelings. Yet the idea of all of them sharing a bed did seem quite appealing. But the last thing he wanted was becoming a deviant.

The orchestrator then stepped forward as she wrapped her arms around Kaede's neck planting a kiss on her to which the recipient blushed and flinched at the action. She then stepped back with her smile once more. "It'll be fine". Nyu then began to make her way towards the bedroom. As she did this she started to tow Kohta and Kaede along against their will.

"Wait Nyu-san! Wait!" as the tanned youth tried but failed to reason with her.

"We didn't agree to anything yet!" exclaimed the horned girl as she tried to peel her sister's vector off.

But disregarding what they were saying and deciding it was for the best she continued her way into the bedroom as the unwilling (yet willing?) pair were dragged into the room. As they entered, the door closed behind them signaling the start of their long waking ecstasy filled passion which burned all throughout the night.

* * *

Quick note: This fic is rated T, so this is as far as I can and will go with it. More will be mentioned in the author's notes. But I will say that none of them got any sleep that night and due to Kaede and Nyu's vector ability to control physiology . . . . in economic terms, Kohta was more than able to meet the supply and demand of the situation.

* * *

In a secret organization stationed out on an isolated island off the Kamakura prefecture a man dressed in a white lab coat stared eagerly at the screen.

On that screen was a teen girl with pink hair as she was tightly strapped and mounted in a hanging cage with several cameras and guards watching her every move around the clock.

The man in question was none other than Kakuzawa junior as he licked his lips at the plans he had in store for the 'queen' of the diclonius race. "Soon, very soon you shall be free. Then you shall be mine Lucy. All mine".

At imagining his plans, his egotism and narcissism swelled at the ideas that surged through his head. Soon his dreams would become reality as nothing in the world would be outside his reach anymore.

But unknown to everyone, the pink figure who barely had any semblance to humanity left opened her eyes as she looked out the holes in her helmet. "And soon it will begin . . . ."

To be continued . . . .

* * *

Author's notes: my only opinion on love (whatever form it may be) is that if it floats your boat then I've got nothing to criticize or judge against anyone.

As I stated before a few chapters back if someone wants me to write what happens during that scene make a request and I will consider it. However I don't exactly write lemons and I'd rather not butcher it seeing as the whole concept of it is rather foreign to me.

Now moving along the next chapter will now begin the Elfen Lied series at Lucy's escape, the gangs attendance to the university located in Kamakura, the move in to maple inn, the meeting of all the other characters, and then finally where the story was supposed to end.

Every beginning has an end, and every ending is just the beginning.

**Snowy-Sonya** – I thank you for staying with the story thus far and hope you will continue your support with your kind patronage.

**Turp** - . . . . We'll discuss that later.

**Zaraenis** – Thank you and I hope to continue to meet your expectations.

**alvarorbenavides** – True, it is indeed a question of nature vs. nuture. But worry not it is something I don't plan on missing in this story.

** Wolf Ness** – Thank you for reviewing and thank you for your kind words. I hope to continue at keeping you and everyone else at the edge of their seats.

**VideoSpud** – All very good questions, but they will all be answered in future chapters. So please stay tuned as some of your questions will be answered sooner and others later as the story progresses.

**redrain8696** – You'll see, for nothing is at it appears on first glance.

So I thank everyone for reading my fic and I further extend my gratitude if you can review it as well.


	23. Faith

Chapter 23: Faith

Synopsis: When the body has failed, the mind has faded; there exists other things we as humans can use to pick ourselves up again. That power is known as faith. With strong enough faith one would be surprised in the things that they are able to accomplish.

Reminder: I do not own Elfen Lied or any characters associated with it

"talking"

_thoughts_

_

* * *

_

Within her temporary residence in a Kamakura motel, Kaede tossed and turned as she sweated profusely from the dream she was having.

* * *

~ Dream Sequence ~

There in a dark room she found herself mounted and suspended in the center of a cage as she looked down to see two guards who had recently entered her room. Although they appeared to be quite oblivious, she listened in on them.

"I feel something is going to happen today".

"Yeah . . . ."

"It felt like this when Murakami died. The security is weak because of the transportation tomorrow. So don't slack off on the job".

"I know that, sir".

The two guards then went to their assigned station as the new recruit took his seat at his desk. "Ok, what was it today?" The new recruit then heard a strange noise. "Damn, it's too noisy" as he walked closer to the cage. "Geez, I was so happy when I heard I was watching over a girl. Story's different when the girl's not even human".

The senior guard immediately ran up behind him. "Hey! Don't go near that thing!"

"Y . . . . Yes!"

"What are you gonna do if you make it more angry?"

The recruit shrugged as he went back to his desk. "Now . . . . huh? Where did I put that pen?" He then turned around as his eyes widened in shock to see his writing utensil within the 'creatures' cage.

"Sasaki! Run away!"

Kaede gasped as her dream self killed the poor man by launching the pen into the man's head. However the dream wasn't over yet as the next day a man named Kurama was explaining to the Japanese prime minister how much of a threat she was and needed to be moved to another facility. After they left the guards returned to their duty as they watched diligently over her prison.

"What's that sound?" asked one of the guards as he heard an unusual tune in the air.

"Ah, I'm sorry. It was my cell phone" as he lifted it out to see who it was.

The other man looked to him in shock. "Hey . . . . Do you know how deep underground we are right now? There's no way that phone can work here".

At that time her dream self was rattling hard as she struck the floor in wanting to escape. With one strong strike the man flinched as he dropped his cell phone into cage as he dashed in to get it. "Crap!"

"You moron! Stop!"

But it was too late as he was now in her range as she grabbed his arm with her vectors.

"Take out your hand!"

"I can't! That monster is pulling on my hand!"

Her dream self made quick work to pull his arm clean off as the guard screamed out in pain.

"Move away from there! Take your arm out!"

However the dismembered man was far to disoriented to listen as he ended up tripping into her cage. At realizing his mistake he was immediately decapitated. The other guard looked on in shook at what happened. But things immediately turned towards the worse as the dead guard's keys were being lifted from his pocket.

The remaining guard drew his weapon as he fired his gun. "Stop right there!" But at seeing his bullet stop harmlessly in front of her he was at a loss for words. "_It's useless, I can't hit it!_" Seeing as the 'monster' was about to be free, he opened fire once more. "Stop it right now!"

But it was too late as she descended from her cage and tore her 'prison' apart. Looking to her attacker she wasted no time in mutilating him as body parts and organs went splattering all over the room. As the main doors to her prison opened, it revealed two more unsuspecting guards. At this point she wasted no time in making her escape. Of course there was resistance as guards armed with semi-automatic machine guns began to attack her. But they were minor nuisances as they were soon reduced to mince meat on the floor. Eventually the alarms sounded. But Kaede felt her dream self's indifference to it. If anyone got in her way then they would simply be . . . . removed.

She then found herself on a long hallway as a long brunette haired girl happened to unluckily cross her path. The foolish youth stopped to look at her. "What . . . What happened to your face? Are you OK?"

"Kisaragi!"

The next thing Kaede saw was that she was holding the girl hostage as she threatened to kill her if the main door wasn't opened. Up to this point, she was horrified at the things she was doing. As much as she wanted to wake up now she couldn't as she was forced to continue and watch.

"Help me! Mom! Dad!" Kisaragi cried.

The guards including Kurama talked amongst themselves until the man with glasses spoke up. "We need to sacrifice you".

The brunette stopped flailing as her tears began to stream down the die of her face. "Then . . . . I'll be helping you?"

"Yeah" replied Kurama heartlessly. "We won't let your death be wasted".

"You promise?"

But the conversation was short lived as her dream self callously ripped her hostages head off due to her impatience.

"Shoot!" then commanded Kurama. On that order the security team opened fire. But it proved pointless as the bullets never touched her as she effortlessly slaughtered every guard within reach of her vectors. At seeing the horrifying display the remaining guards' morale began to crumble.

"Don't be scared" shouted Kurama. "We almost got her! She's like a prey in the corner now!" But it was useless as the remaining security team was far too scared to oppose the 'it' now.

Kaede then found herself walking again as she began to pass by Kurama. "You will live for now. You still have a purpose to serve". At that end statement she easily walked right out the building as she proceeded to the end of the cliff. She then removed her helmet as her long pink hair came rolling out. But just before jumping into the ocean she tilted her head slightly as a .50 BMG round came zipping by her head. She then looked back up to the building as she could literally see Kurama and the sniper say "impossible" to the unbelievable dodge she just did. She then flashed a grin before jumping into the ocean.

~ End Dream Sequence ~

* * *

Kaede popped up as the intense dream came to an end. She then placed one hands to her face as she breathed heavily while attempting to calm herself down.

"Oneesan?"

The pink diclonius looked over to her bed occupant looking to her worriedly. "It's OK, I just had a bad dream is all".

The ditzy girl nodded her head as the twins got up to prepare themselves for the course of the day.

* * *

Earlier that week Yuka's mother set up their living arrangements near the university.

The Maple Inn it was called. It used to be a family kind of restaurant. But due to one reason or another it was left vacant until recently as the deal was so long as they took care of the facility then they would be allowed to live there for free.

And today was the day where they would all be moving in.

The twin sisters took a walk around as they smiled in nostalgia of how long it's been since they've been back to their home city. Eventually they arrived to the area where they promised to meet up with Kohta and Yuka.

"Oi!" called the tanned youth.

The girls waved back as they went towards him. Yesterday, Kohta and his cousin decided to go there first to ensure the facility was in working order. So now at this point in time the trio along with Yuka was sharing a minor discussion about what to do at the moment.

"Can't we take a walk along the beach?" Nyu asked.

"I'm afraid not" replied Yuka. "There is still much to do back at the inn. Although we've finished the initial check-up we still have to do some cleaning and minor maintenance to ensure that everything is in working order".

"Ahh".

"Don't complain" then said Kaede. "We're getting to live there for free. So doing some cleaning and some fix-it-up jobs is a small price to pay for what we are getting in return".

Kohta nodded, "so as soon as we're done with that then maybe we can come back later to play, OK?"

Nyu gave a pout before agreeing. But as the group left she removed her sandals as she stepped into the water as the wind blew by her picking up her hair slightly. She then folded her hands behind her as she looked out towards the distance. Her eyes narrowed slightly as she appeared to be deep in thought about something.

"What are doing? If you don't hurry up we're going to leave you behind!"

"Ahh, I'm sorry! I'm coming!" But as she ran she looked back momentarily to see a pair of eyes gleaming back at her.

* * *

Elsewhere within a secret facility, much chaos was going around as every worker there was working themselves to the bone in retrieving the 'object' they lost.

"Assign many people as you can to Yuigahama and search for her" ordered Kurama. "Do anything to find her whereabouts". The stoic man then thought carefully in what they were up against. "Contact Kachijima, we're assigning S.A.T."

Shirakawa, his fellow scientist looked to him curiously. "S.A.T.?"

"Special assault team, they're best at wars in Japan".

* * *

"So boring!" complained Bando, an S.A.T. operative. "I can't do this shit!" The fact is he was tired of shooting only dolls and mannequins. This person in particular was a ruthless man. He was the best at what he did, and that was killing his intended targets with absolute precision and effectiveness.

"Hey, be happy. You're going into action" said his superior officer as he saw the man walk out of the simulation chamber.

"Tsk, it's probably a salary man kidnapping case or some dumb bitch killing themselves. You can let the police force handle that".

His superior officer maintained his neutral expression. "Some killer escaped from a prison and killed over ten people today. Your mission is to locate and terminate that person".

"Heh, really?" said Bando as he started to feel his blood boil with excitement. The sadistic man then began to laugh maniacally. "After eight years the day has finally come for me to kill people legally!"

"Excuse me . . . . Bando-san . . . .?"

Without giving it a second thought he swung his fist back knocking the buildings secretary a few feet away as she was now bleeding severely from the nose and mouth. Everyone looked in shock at what he did. "Don't stand behind my back without notifying me you stupid bitch".

* * *

Back at Maple Inn the group was working hard to get the facility up and running. Things were proceeding nicely as the job was getting done quickly with the extra 'hands' around the house.

"It looks like it's raining hard" commented Kohta as he listened outside.

"Strange, it was such a clear day today" said Yuka.

"Well the faster we get things done here then the faster we can get to relaxing" said Kaede. She then hugged Kohta from behind. "And I'd definitely love to have a nice long hot bath afterwards".

The tanned youth gave a strained chuckle. He then looked up to see Nyu looking out the window. "Is there something wrong?"

The ditzy girl smiled as she turned around. "It's nothing, I was just thinking about something. Anyways we currently need a few things right? So I'll be back a little later".

"But it's pouring outside" said Yuka.

"It's fine, besides we're going to need a few things for tonight's dinner. So I'll be right back". So without another word she left grabbing an umbrella along the way.

* * *

"I would have never expected a shoot to kill order for a teenager" grinned Bando. "Doing all that stupid training everyday actually paid off".

The captain of the S.A.T. looked to him in disbelief.

"Don't start another lecture! Captain! Let me lead the assault! It's not every day that I'm allowed to kill somebody". However the captain continued to stare at him quietly. "What's with that stare? We all practice shooting assault every day. We will be a waste of taxpayers' money if we don't show the outcome of our training". He then looked to the rest of his platoon. "Hey, listen up! If you guys ever shoot the target before I do I'll rip a hole in your head".

The helicopter soon landed in Kamakura as the S.A.T. captain began assigning search posts. "The target is a teenage girl in little clothing and horns. You are permitted to shoot to kill without reporting". He then looked to his roster. "After landing, Sekine's group goes to Kamakura town center, Bando's group goes to the Sasame district, and Oonog's group will investigate the beach".

"No" protested Bando. "I'll do the beach. Hey Oono, switch with me".

"Don't do it without permission" lectured the captain. "Listen to the orders!"

"I don't mind, I'll look in the Sasame district".

The S.A.T. captain sighed. "The target is said to have a supernatural weapon. None of you are to approach the target within two meters after locating, and also try your best not to hurt civilians".

"Try our best?" said Bando dumbfounded at the statement.

"You should avoid hurting civilians".

"Huh? Why?"

"Termination of the target is top priority. Do not think of unnecessary thoughts. Alright! Time for deployment!"

In their assigned posts the three teams went out to look for the so called dangerous killer. At this time, Bando and his partner began to comb the beach for their target.

As they looked around they began to feel how tedious this was all becoming.

"Hey, why did you want to look at the beach? The target is most likely way gone from here by now".

The hot blooded man stared intensely in front of him. "It was just a feeling". After a few minutes of searching the pair broke up to cover more ground. However that was yielding very little results. Bando began to grow irritated as he soon removed his mask in order to get a smoke. "_This is getting lame as f**k. It probably would have been better if I went to Sasame_". He then heard a loud scream, and as he turned he saw as his partner was not only decapitated, but also missing his gut and right arm.

He then focused his eyes as he caught sight of his target. At noticing the two horns immediately he armed his weapon as he began to open fire. "What the hell are you?" Even after unloading half of his clip he immediately noticed as his attack wasn't working. "_What the hell! The bullets won't hit her?_"

A huge explosion then occurred in front of him as he dropped his helmet only for it to be smashed with a hand print on it. "_A hand?_" He then felt another explosion occur as he then got up to take refuge behind a rock. "_What's going on?_" Just then he recalled what his senior officer said. "_Hey, don't f**k with me! What the hell, the problem isn't with the unknown weapon! She's not even human in the first place!_"

Bando immediately took cover as a small rock went flying at him with enough force to put a hole in the boulder he was hiding behind. "_I see! The two meter radius is the range in which her weapon can reach. So she can only throw to attack if the enemy is outside her range. Then I have a chance!_" The boulder he was laying on blew apart as he soon got up to move.

Even in such a life threatening situation he was having the time of his life since this was the first time in a fight that he was forced to be the prey instead of the predator. However this was not a fight he planned on losing. After looking over another boulder he was hiding behind he saw as his target was soon going to pass by his fallen partner's corpse at which time he planned to shoot his grenade hoping to at least either rip off one of her legs or stun her. But he couldn't watch as she came seeing as the 'monster' was still launching things at him. So depending on his hearing and waiting for the moment, he jumped out as he took aim.

"_Shit_" for with all his calculating he didn't count on his opponent picking up his partners gun to use against him. As he attempted to jump out of the way he couldn't fast enough as two bullets hit his left leg and as one hit his right.

Bando clenched at feeling the hot lead pierce through him. However if he thought he was unlucky for getting hit, then he was now shit out of luck as his target was now standing over him.

"Is it fun?" she asked.

Not wasting any time he raised his weapon only for his right arm to be severed. He screamed at the pain, but still refusing to show weakness he raised his other arm only for it to be bent in half like a toothpick. Bando screamed out once more as his entire consciousness was screaming in agony. "You little . . . . I'll remember you . . . . I'll never forget your face! I'll find you and slaughter you!"

Taking her cue upon his declaration she positioned her vector over his eyes as she then gouged them immediately reducing his ocular organ to nothing more than sludge and a puddle of blood. Bando screamed once again as he cursed her for the loss of his eyes. "I'll you kill you! I'll f**king kill you!" as he continued on about how badly he thirsted for her blood.

But her only response was looking down to him pathetically as this was only the beginning of his torment. She then proceeded to cut off his legs piece by piece making sure he felt ever moment of it. After a good long agonizing ten minutes, she grew bored as she was now going to deliver the finishing touch. As her invisible hand was ready to cleave off his head, she was interrupted from her 'toy'.

"You can't do that Lucy . . . ."

". . . .?" at this time Bando was wavering between consciousness and death as he was barely able to make out what was going on in the world of darkness (blind).

"You have no right to tell me what to do. After what you and that bitch did, I could care less about what happens".

"You should know better than that. If he dies there is no telling what may happen, and I know it's in your best interest not to cause anymore problems".

Silence permeated for a while. " . . . . Be sure I will be back and I will claim what is rightfully mine. But I'll cooperate . . . . for now" and with that Bando felt as she left only for the other individual to approach him.

"I don't have much time left to fix your legs. But I'm afraid that I'm going to have to erase a few minutes of your life".

"What the f**K are you talking about?"

However he was silenced as a vector pierced his head as it got to work scrambling all his electrical signals messing up his recent memories while the mysterious figure got to work on reattaching his legs.

* * *

Somewhere down the beach a girl of roughly twelve years of age dressed in an oversized yellow sweater along with her small puppy sat under a shed as they cuddled closely together to preserve as much heat as they could.

The girl sighed at she looked to the pup. "I'm hungry". But like a pink blur, she saw as a pink haired girl ran by her as if she was in a marathon run. "What happened to her? It's raining and . . . ."

"I'll kill you . . . ."

The adolescent child wondered out to investigate as she saw a heavily injured man laying in the sand as he flailed about swearing and cursing about how he was going to kill someone.

"What happened to you? Are you OK?" she asked. But it was drowned out by the injured man's constant rants. After a few tries of trying to calm him down she decided to make herself known. "Don't move!"

". . . ." He immediately stopped moving. The brunette girl then got to work as she provided emergency first aid with the use of ragged cloth as tourniquets.

"Who are you?"

"Don't move anymore. I'm going to call an ambulance". She then spotted an umbrella nearby as she quickly made her way towards a phone booth to make an emergency phone call. "It's _OK now, he'll be saved now_". She then looked down to the umbrella handle as it read a certain name. "_Maple Inn . . . ._"

* * *

"What took you so long? And why are you all wet?" asked Kohta as he looked to the awful state the ditzy girl was in.

Nyu chuckled, "I kind of lost my umbrella in the storm so I had to run back quickly with everything I had". She then grabbed Kohta's arm as she began to drag him towards the indoor hot spring. "So if you don't mind why don't you wash my back since a hot bath always feels great during a cold storm".

Kohta blushed, "We can't do that . . . . Yuka's here" as he grunted the last part.

The said brunette looked half pissed at the situation, but soon gave a heavy sigh in relieving herself of the negative feeling. "Can't you two do that when I'm not here?"

"It's just a bath" rebutted Nyu. "If you want to come along you're more than welcomed too".

Yuka blushed heavily at the implication.

"Nyu!"

* * *

Sometime later in the infirmary back at the diclonius research center . . . .

"Hey you . . . . Don't f**k with me . . . . Who the hell would take such an operation? F**king bastard!" screamed Bando on his hospital bed. After hearing he needed to get himself cut 'down there' he felt death was way better. I mean wouldn't most guys fell that way?

Kurama looked stoically to him from his bed side. "I feel sympathy for you, but you must take the surgery no matter what. But if you refuse you'll die here".

"Why you . . . . " the hot blooded man growled. "I barely came back with my life! And this is how you treat me! What exactly are your reasons?"

" . . . . If you don't, the human race will be destroyed".

"Are you a f**king moron!" as Bando began to flail violently. "What do my balls have anything to do with human extinction? Explain! What the hell is that horned girl in the first place? What the f**k are those 'weapons'! Tell me . . . .what exactly did I really lose too?"

At that questioning Kurama began to reveal the entire back story of everything he knew about the diclonius race.

* * *

The next day everything was relatively active and in working order as Kohta tended to the floors, the diclonius sisters to the heavy lifting, and Yuka to the supply management.

"Just because you're living with three girls don't get any weird ideas".

"I won't" said Kohta plainly.

"Oh and by the way" as she turned around displaying a sour look. "Please restrict yourself from doing any perverted things with Kaede-san and Nyu-chan. We still have much to do before we all settle in". At that ending statement she left to go run her errand.

The tanned youth signed. "I better straighten myself out. I don't want to see her being so angry anymore". He then heard the door rustle behind him. "What's wrong? Did you forget something?"

" . . . . umm . . . . . Excuse me . . . ." There at the doorway was a young brunette dressed in an oversized yellow sweater.

" . . . . You are?"

"Umm . . . . I found this umbrella and umm . . . .The name of this place is written on it so . . . . "

Kohata looked to her in realization. "Ahh . . . . Thanks for the trouble. This must have been the umbrella Nyu lost last night. Where did you find it?"

"Umm . . . . At the beach last night . . . ."

"_The beach?_" he thought quizzically. "_Why would the umbrella be all the way at the beach?_" But he then shrugged it off as wind current. "It was raining last night, right? Pretty strange time to be at the beach" said Kohta as he scratched his cheek.

The girl nodded nervously.

"Anyways why don't you come inside and make yourself at home".

"Ahh . . . . I really shouldn't . . . ."

"Nonsense! Since you took the time to hand back missing property you ought to be rewarded for it".

The girl gulped as she could feel her stomach grumbling from last night. So not wanting to pass up an opportunity of getting food she entered.

"Unfamiliar shoes . . . ." Moments ago, Yuka returned only to see as they apparently had a guest at the moment. At seeing the new girl at the table she gave off a sigh. "There are more girls . . . ."

Kohta gave a chuckle, "just inviting her in as a thank you for returning lost property".

Meanwhile outside Kaede was sweeping the garden until she spotted a puppy leashed to the front door. She then put aside her tool as she took a seat next to the pup giving it a nostalgic look. "You remind me of the dog I used to have . . . ."

Back inside . . . .

"Ah, that's my friend" said the young brunette.

"Your friend?" questioned Yuka.

"He's not really my pet . . . . But since we're always together . . . . We're friends".

"Well anyways it's getting late so I better get started on lunch" as Yuka got up to go to the kitchen.

"Ah, thanks" Kohta remarked.

"Lu . . . .Lunch?" In an uncontrolled instant her stomach began to howl as loud as a dog as she began to salivate from the mouth.

The cousins looked to her in surprise. "If you're hungry, do you want to join us for lunch?"

"No! No! No! It's not that!" she quickly replied not trying to sound imposing. "I didn't mean to do that!" She felt her saliva drip onto her hands. "I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry, it's not that, it's not that".

Kohta gave a soft chuckle. "Well c'mon, let's eat together".

"Sor . . . .Sorry".

As lunch was served, the group of friends looked to her in amazement.

As she ate they could literally see stars being lit in her eyes. "Deli . . . . cious" as she patted her cheek.

"Really? Thanks" responded Yuka.

"I don't really think it was that great" said Kohta.

"Ditto" replied Kaede as she continued to eat as Nyu wasn't really paying attention to the conversation.

"Then none of you have to eat it then!" as she pointed her finger to the food critics. "Anyways we'll have to do a lot of micromanaging in order to keep everything in stock. So we'll all probably have to go out and get part-time jobs".

"Wow, trying to sound like a mom already" Kaede chimed in between bites.

"Yay, mama-chan" Nyu cheered.

"Hey! Don't be saying such weird stuff like that! I'm still not even twenty yet!"

However their conversation was broken as their young guest began to laugh at their antics. Yuka smiled to her softly as she bent down to be face to face with her. "Hey, what's your name? How old are you?"

The young brunette froze slightly at that question. "Umm . . . . Mayu . . . . twelve years old . . . ."

"Mayu-chan huh? Do you live near here?" then asked Kohta.

"Umm . . . . yes . . . ." she stuttered out. Mayu then placed her chopsticks down as she proceeded to get up. "Thank you very much for the meal. It was very delicious. Umm . . . . Then now . . . . I uhh . . . ."

"Ah, wait! Could you tell us how we can contact you?" smiled Nyu. "We'd love to have you over more often".

Mayu completely froze at that question. A cold chill then shook her body, "_I . . . . don't have a place to live . . . ._" "Sorry, excuse me!" as she then ran out the door.

"Ohh . . . . Rejection" said Yuka.

"Definitely feels like it" then said Kohta.

But during this time Kaede watched the scene as a familiar vibe crept up through her.

* * *

Back at the secret diclonius research facility, three scientists watched through a view screen as a twelve year old looking silpelit laid bandaged up on a table.

"Number seven still seems to be the best option. She behaves well and has never harmed a human with her vectors". The scientist paused for a second. "It's just that . . . . She has been through so many horrible experiments that I'm not sure she'll cooperate with us . . . ."

Kurama looked intently at the child as he soon entered the room.

"Sir?"

The stoic man looked over the girl as the young silpelit looked back at him.

The child began to tear up at the sight of the man. "Papa? Papa came to see Nana? Papa . . . . It's Papa!" as the horned girl began to cry rather emotionally.

"I have a favor to ask you . . . . " and with that the elder man guided her to another room as he got her prepared for her upcoming trip.

"Wahhh, first time in cloths likes this!" smiled Nana. "Do I look good?" She then folded her hands behind her as she smiled to her 'father'. "Papa, what is the favor? I'll do anything papa tells me to do".

Kurama turned to her as he bluntly made his request apparent. "I want you to kill a person . . . ."

To be continued . . . .

* * *

Author's notes: I hope this 'official first chapter' was to everyone's liking. But now the wheels of fate are turning as time has begun revolve around all those fated to meet. How this is all going to end . . . . well you all are just going to have to stay tuned.

By the way, for any curious scenes or missing information I plan to write a sort of 'patch' story which will fill in the gaps of what happened to certain characters at certain times in certain places ranging from the beginning to the very end. However lemons are still on the 'maybe' list.

**RadonMax** – Thank you for the encouragement and I'll definitely look into writing a 'branch' story for everything that was either missed or not mentioned.

**Snowy-Sonya** – Yes . . . yes they did =0_0=. But anyways thank you for your support and I hope to continue to entertain you.

**redrain8696** – Thank you for your support and I'll try to have the next chapter up as soon as possible.

**Chungdoo** – Thank you . . . . and no, that is one analogy I'd never thought I would make.

**alvarorbenavides** – I'll definitely cover your question when I get around to the 'branch' story. But anyways thank you for reading so far and I hope that I don't disappoint.

**Zaraenis** – Thank you for following along so far, and as pertaining to your first statement . . . . I'll have all the details in the 'branch' story after this one is done.

**TURP** – We'll have that discussion later.

**Dark09** – Thank you for the compliment and I hope you'll continue reading.

So now I thank you all for reading this fic and also extend my further gratitude if you can review it as well. Now the main show is about to begin and things are going to get pretty hairy along the way.


	24. Acquaintance

Chapter 24: Acquaintance

Synopsis: A bond is forever regardless of how much time and distance comes between people. But is there really such a thing as forever?

Reminder: I do not own Elfen Lied or any characters associated with it

"talking"

_thoughts_

_

* * *

_

After a briefing on her mission, Nana was soon escorted to a helicopter to begin her job. Now the fact was she was willing to do anything for her 'papa'. However, the kill request left a kind of bitter taste in her mouth. Preferably she was hoping to be able to 'try' and convince Lucy to come back without any bloodshed occurring. But that was highly unlikely seeing as she too was well aware of the horrible living conditions of the facility. Knowing how horrible it was to live there fighting was the most likely outcome when it came to facing off with the 'queen of the diclonius'. But for the sake of her 'papa', she was willing to go to any extent to receive his praise.

So closing her eyes she began to sense around to where her target was most likely hiding. In no time at all she found a very powerful diclonius nearby.

"_For my papa's happiness . . . . I will take you in dead or alive Lucy_".

The vehicle soon arrived in Kamakura as Nana began to follow her senses.

Right behind her was a small platoon who was ready to back her up in the worst case scenario. However they were going to hang back in order to allow her to find the target more easily since traveling as group was far too conspicuous. But as soon she was located they would immediately move in to either capture or kill depending on the situation.

"_Papa will definitely praise me for a job well done_".

* * *

"I'm beat" as Kaede took a seat on the stairs. Early that day, she was sent on an errand to pick up a few items. But not having enough physical hands to take all of them she had to use her vectors to aid in her transport. Of course she made sure no one was around as she did this. However it required her to take the long route home as she soon found herself on a stairway.

Aside from errands she was also job hunting to earn some cash to contribute to their home needs. Since the inn was being rented out to them for free including all expenses paid electricity and water all that was left was other living essentials like food and other commodities.

Of course they could have asked Kohta or Yuka's parents for monetary support. But they were now entering adulthood. So it was about time they tried to support themselves as best they could while asking as little help as possible. But seeing as everyone was getting a part-time job, covering any living expenses wasn't going to be too difficult.

"Hmm? What is that?" Although it was minor at first it started to grow stronger. Since she was actively using her powers she wasn't too surprised to be feeling the presence of others of her own 'kind'. But this particular presence felt foreign to her. The signal didn't feel like her sister, but it was definitely closing in on her up till the point it was right behind her.

"You will be coming back with me . . . . back home".

Kaede turned to see a roughly twelve year old looking girl dressed in a blue dress with a tie tied into her hair. She then raised her eyebrow in curiosity if she was talking to her. But deciding to go with it she decided to just continue and listen.

"Do not try and run, I've already contacted 'them'".

The pink diclonius then looked to her a bit dumbfounded. "I think you might have me confused with someone else". She then quirked her head as she was now certain it was her she was feeling. "By the way, you're like me aren't you?" as she then removed her ribbons to reveal her horns.

Nana was a bit taken back by her action. "_She isn't anything like papa described_" "Yes, I'm a diclonius just like you. But more of a silpelit as papa explained. For this reason, we must now return back home where we belong".

Kaede retied her horns as she gave her another awkward look. "_Diclonius? Silpelit? Home?_" She then shook her head slightly. "I'm sorry, I think you really must have me confused with someone. Plus I have to get these items back home before a particular girl yells at me for allowing them to sit in the sun for too long. But anyways it was nice talking with you and I'd love to have another conversation when I have more time". So just using her regular arms she picked up her bags and began to walk.

" _. . . .? Why can't I feel her presence?_" At noticing her significant distance she then began to run after her. "Please wait!"

The horned girl stopped once again at the strange girl's request. "You're awfully persistent. But I'm in a hurry right now so I think you should look for whoever you're looking for somewhere else".

"Um . . . . I can't let you go . . . . If I don't bring you home . . . . "

But not really paying attention to what she was saying, "Ah I know, you want something to eat, right?"

Nana flinched at her targets sudden reaction. "Wha . . . . what?"

"You must be really hungry if you keep asking for this person to come home. Must be your mom or sister or something that cooks at your home right?"

"No . . . . no . . . . it isn't anything like that".

But still not really paying attention to what she was saying, "I was going to eat these later when I got home, but I guess you can have it". Out from her bag she handed a package of dango to the twelve year old looking girl. "But I'm really behind schedule so I have to get going now. So we'll talk another time, OK?" and with that she made a hasty retreat.

Nana being too shocked at the pace of the conversation could only nod as she watched Lucy get away from her. She then looked down at the package curiously wondering what it was. Completely forgetting what she was supposed to be doing at the moment she then took a seat at a nearby bench as she opened the package to consume its contents. At eating the first one her mouth began to water at the feeling. "This is so sweet and soft. What is this amazing thing?" The young silpelit then began to happily munch away until she was immediately disturbed a moment later.

"Where is Lucy? We do not see her anywhere within the vicinity!"

Nana looked up as it immediately dawned on her about what she was supposed to be doing. In a rather comedic fashion, tears poured out her eyes, "Papa!"

" . . . .Useless".

"Get back to work and go find her!"

As the platoon began to walk away the young silpelit felt disheartened as she could hear some of the condescending things that were directed towards her. "But I won't give up for papa's sake".

She then got back to work in trying to locate the vicious homicidal Lucy her papa had told her so much about. After walking around for a while she located her signal again. "I won't let you get away from me this time!"

* * *

Nyu was strolling through the park until she came about a poor baby bird that was crying helplessly on the ground for its parents to save it.

Feeling instantly sorry for it, she decided to lift it back up to its nest. Not wishing to disturb the parents or the other chicks she used her vector in order to place it back to its nest. Nyu smiled as the parents chirped happily at the return of their baby. One of the birds then flew down and landed on her shoulder as it sang to her. The ditzy girl then cupped both her hands in front of her as the bird jumped to her palm. At facing one another she gave the bird a slight kiss to its beak. The bird then flew away as Nyu waved and smiled to the small happy family.

She then continued on her way back home as she was satisfied with her day thus far. Nyu managed to secure herself a very well paying part-time job in which the time and work load were to her satisfaction. Although the uniform she had to wear was a particularly strange one.

"I found you! You won't get away a second time!"

Nyu turned around to see a much disheveled twelve year old looking girl as she seemed to be glaring at her for one reason or another.

"I've already sent out the call so you won't get away this time even if you decide to use tricks on me again!" Almost instantly she began to drool at remembering the treat she was eating earlier.

Her dumbfounded look then turned to a smile as she then approached the child taking her hand as she shook them. "I'm sorry, but I don't remember who you are. So if that is the case allow me to reintroduce myself. My name is Nyu Hikaru".

Nana now the second time that day was bewildered at the action of her target. "_Her name is Nyu? But papa said her name was Lucy . . . . No! she must be tricking me again! . . . . When did she change her cloths . . . ._"

But just before she could call her out on her claim she was immediately interjected. "So what is your name?"

Surprised at the sudden question the young silpelit stuttered at her answer. "Nana, my name is Nana".

"That's a cute name". A beeping sound then alarmed from her cell phone as she looked to it in surprise. "It seems I'm being called back home now. Well I'll be seeing you later". With that she turned around to leave.

"Wait! You can't . . . ."

"Oh, and to commemorate our meeting I want you to have this" to which Nyu handed Nana a lollipop. "I hope you like it". With that she left.

Nana was once again left in the state of shock of not knowing what to do. She then looked down to her hand to see the treat she was handed. Curious to what it was she removed the wrapper and popped it into her mouth to which she then cupped her cheeks at how her taste buds felt like dancing.

But like the incident before . . . .

"Where's Lucy? You said she was here!"

And once again, " . . . . Papa!"

The platoon was getting agitated at how useless there tracker was. However she was their only lead and the fact was they needed her to find Lucy before the homicidal maniac turned half the city into a slaughter house. But if she were to fail again they would immediately return her back to the facility in order to get a perceptibly better one for the job.

"_I messed up again papa. But Nana won't fail again. She'll try harder this time!_" She then got back to work in tracking Lucy's presence until she got another bite. At feeling her she ran to her location which was now at a local temple. Nana looked to see her target apparently sitting on one of the shrines as she seemed to be deep in thought about something. So having absolute confidence in getting it right this time she called the back-up platoon to her location as she decided to engage the target. But before she could advance any further she immediately found a vector reaching into her brain, heart, and other key organs.

"Don't move . . . ."

Nana definitely felt something different from her this time. This was the person her papa told her so much about. Now, she was definitely feeling the cold fear of death looming over her as 'this' Lucy was going straight to kill first and ask questions later.

"You'll die if I move a vein in your brain just one millimeter, your heart too, as well as some other places". However Lucy felt no point in killing her own kind as she got off the shrine to leave. "Forget it, just go home".

Nana then recovered from her shock as she watched her target leave. "But you can't. I have to take you back home with me".

"I'm warning you . . . . leave . . . . or die where you stand".

"But . . . . "

At being impatient with the naïve girl's persistence, she swung her vector back knocking Nana across the jaw sending her crashing to the ground. "I was going to let you go since you were like me. But if you insist I'll put you down like the dog you are".

"This doesn't hurt at all!" the young silpelit shouted as she was now on her feet ready to fight. "_I knew she was only pretending to make me let my guard down!_" With that she sent her psychic arms out on the offensive.

Lucy kicked back to avoid however she was surprised at the range of her opponents arms as it easily reached her striking her across the face. The sadistic girl looked up in surprise, but her assault wasn't over yet as Nana now had her vectors closed around her throat threatening to strangle her.

" . . . . Don't worry, I won't kill you. However . . . . I'll make you suffer in papa's place".

"You overestimate yourself little girl" as she then picked up three of the surrounding tombstones to throw at her.

Nana made a quick dodge surprised at the sheer power Lucy had. But at noticing her presence right behind her she launched her vector out knocking her target back a few feet. "Attacking me from behind, that's pretty low of you". She then got up to face her. "If I wanted too I could have killed you three times over by now".

* * *

Elsewhere Mayu and her little friend had managed to procure their meal for the day from their local bread shop. Unfortunately it was their only form of food seeing by all tense and purposes . . . . she was homeless due to an incident that happened for a while now not too long ago. But she was content that she was able to get away from that horrible life even if it meant living out on the streets barely getting by with little scraps of food. After meeting such nice people that day she felt her heart warm at knowing such nice people did exist.

Mayu looked down to her little friend. "Then let's go to our usual spot". With that the pair walked their way towards the stone steps. As they sat down to eat, the homeless brunette heard a loud commotion going on nearby. Being the curios girl she was, she decided to go and investigate.

"Is someone there?" At the very top steps is where she saw someone very familiar. "Isn't that the girl from the inn? Why is she wounded?" But realization came upon her as it appeared she was fighting with some other girl.

"_I don't really want to do it, but since my arms are longer I just need to get closer and I'll be in range to sever one of her nerves_". Nana then began to scoot forward trying to gain the distance advantage as she put her plan into action. "_Just a little closer . . . ._"

"No Fighting!"

Nana looked to see a civilian burst onto the scene. At realizing the danger she was in she stepped forward to push her off. "No! Don't come over here!" But it was too late now as the young silpelit realized her mistake. She had now stepped into Lucy's attack range. Taking advantage of her foolishness the sadistic killer severed her right leg sending her plummeting to the ground.

Mayu covered her mouth in shock. "No . . . ." She couldn't believe the unbelievable site before her. But it wasn't going to be much of a problem as she was knocked unconscious by a strong hit dealt by Lucy's vector.

Nana now lay helplessly on the ground as blood spurt out from her severed limb. "It _hurts . . . . It hurts so much . . . . No, I won't be able to fight like this . . . . Papa . . . . Come hurry . . . .__" _But her troubles were far from over as Lucy was now standing next to her. She looked up defiantly not willing to give in to her. "This doesn't hurt at all!"

" . . . ." At her growing agitation she ripped off her prey's right arm. Even though she screamed out in pain she still wasn't satisfied with her demeanor. "Still doesn't hurt . . . .?"

"No . . . . No . . . ." as she was now trying to be brave for her papa even though she was shaking like a leaf from all the pain she was in.

Lucy felt even more agitated at her resolve as she then tore off her remaining limbs to which she was rewarded with another delightful scream from her soon to be dead victim.

Now limbless, Nana laid bloodied and beaten on the ground waiting for the hands of death to take her. "Papa . . . . It hurts . . . ."

Lucy looked to her pathetic form as she was now ready to decapitate her. "Don't worry, it'll stop hurting now". But just before delivering the finisher a sniper round came zipping at her only to be stopped five inches away from her head. At realizing her back-up had finally arrived Nana gave one more push of her vector as she messed up the electrical signals in Lucy's pineal gland temporarily disabling her psychic ability. The sadistic killer grunted as she had fallen for her trap and was now at a disadvantage to which she had no choice but to run.

The platoon soon gave chase not wanting to let her get away. But also hesitant as they still believed her to be quite dangerous seeing as they couldn't see those 'hands' or the effects they had.

"What do we do about the tracker?"

"Leave her, she's useless now. Besides the director and his team is already coming to pick up the remains".

Nana was feeling cold now as she had lost so much blood from having all her limbs ripped off. As a result her vision began to get slightly blurry. "Papa . . . . I want to see papa". A moment later a silhouette of someone then hovered over her to check her condition. "Papa?"

"What the heck happened to her? What could have done such a horrible thing?"

"Oneesan, she's bleeding really badly. We have to do something!"

"_You're . . . . not papa . . . ._" thought Nana as she began to waver.

"Nyu, you take the left side, I'll work on the right".

The young silpelit began to feel a weird sensation as a calm came over her as she was no longer in pain, but instead a neutral state.

"Hurry oneesan! Someone is coming!"

"Don't rush me! This is the first time I've ever tried to reattach limbs before . . . . Hey! Pay attention to what you are doing! You were about to sew her arm to the wrong side of her body!"

Nana opened her eyes slightly to see what appeared to be two Lucy's . . . . healing her at the moment. "_What is going on . . . .?_"

"We're out of time. Someone is almost here!"

"But oneesan, she isn't completely healed yet!"

"We've done all we can. We can't allow ourselves to be seen here doing something like this. Who knows what people may think?"

"But . . . ."

Nana soon felt their presence leave as she was now scooped into another one.

"Nana, I've come to save you".

"Papa . . . ."

* * *

What the hell could have happened?" asked Kaede as she walked back to Maple Inn uncertain of what to make of the recent event. "She was fine when I last saw her. How could such a thing happen to a kid like that?" She then looked over to her sister with a smirk. "But it's a good thing you had us visit mother's shrine. If we didn't do that who knows what could have happened to that girl".

Nyu smiled and nodded, but then did a slight frown. "I do hope she'll be OK. She was still missing her right arm and left leg".

"We did all we could. The best we can hope for is that whoever was there to pick her up was there to help her. Besides, we can't have ourselves being exposed. Remember those bad men I told you about during middle school?"

Nyu nodded.

". . . . I just want us both to be as inconspicuous as possible since I still don't know who they are or what they want. But they clearly aren't the types who seem to want to listen to reason".

The ditzy girl gave a sheepish smile as she jumped onto Kaede's back for a ride. "What would I do without a great oneesan like you always watching over me?"

"Not much since you've always got yourself into trouble when I'm not around". The sisters then shared a laugh as they eventually arrived back to their home.

As soon as they entered they saw as Kohta was answering the phone with a look of surprise on his face "The hospital?"

* * *

"She seems to have fainted along the road to the temple" said the attending nurse. "We did a check up and there seems to be no particular problem. Although we asked where we could contact her family all she said was that they were residing at the Maple Inn".

Kohta gave the nurse a quizzical look. "Huh?"

"Am I wrong?"

The tanned youth looked to the child as her eyes pleaded to him to agree. Feeling slightly bad for her and knowing she must have had a good reason to lie . . . ."No, she's a relative who just came to visit".

After exiting the health facility and getting a good distance away, Kohta decided to concoct his interrogation towards the girl's suspicious behavior. "So will you explain to me what happened?" to which he asked a bit more roughly then he intended too.

Mayu looked down nervously. "Um . . . . I'll repay you for the hospital bill . . . ."

"I'm not talking about the money" said Kohta feeling slightly irked now. "Where do you live? Why didn't you contact your parents instead of us?"

" . . . . Well" but her explanation was cut short at the grumbling of her stomach. "I'm sorry" she chanted as she covered her face in embarrassment.

Kohta sighed at her typical response. "Well . . . . We should go eat something for starters".

* * *

Kurama was feeling frustrated at everything that had happened in the last two days.

Kisaragi, his secretary was killed.

Nana, the girl he considered his daughter was going to be disposed of.

Chief Kakuzawa, the man who had a bigger desk then him didn't really give a damn how many lives were sacrificed to achieve the ultimate goal. "But the ends justify the means" or so he told himself. Even though he thought he threw away all his unwanted emotions, there they were coming back to him like a coach roach that would never die . It was for this reason he never liked growing attached to anything.

But if Kurama were to understand the true motivation of his chief's work or the end result of what his research was supposed to yield he might have been playing for another side. Chief Kakuzawa was an insane man with delusional ideas of grandeur of so many things. But that was something that won't be apparent until it was far too late to do anything about.

* * *

"I'm home" called Kohta as he opened the front door. But as he stepped inside he noticed his guest hesitant to move. "Come on in, is there something wrong?"

"But . . . . you've already treated me to lunch . . . . " Before she could protest any further she was given a push along or pull in this case as Kohta dragged her towards the main dining room.

"Welcome home" said Yuka as she then noticed the extra company. "Oh? She's come over again?"

"I'm sorry" Mayu immediately replied. "For always . . . ." Her eyes shot open at seeing Nyu smiling to her as the memory of that girl's leg flying off was still fresh in her mind. "Are you OK? Do you have any injuries?"

The ditzy girl scanned herself as she checked every part of her body. "Am I supposed to be hurt?" as she pointed to herself.

"Did you see Nyu-chan somewhere?" asked Yuka.

"N . . . . No . . . ." Mayu stuttered out. "_That's right, there's no way a leg could fly off by itself. Must have been my imagination . . . ._"

Kaede soon walked in with dinner as everyone then sat down to eat.

"Um . . . . Thanks for the food . . . ."

Yuka looked to Mayu curiously. "Oh? You didn't really eat much. Aren't you hungry?"

"Ah, yeah . . . ."

"It's OK" as Kohta patted the young brunette on the head. "We'll feed Wanta (her dog) for you later. So go ahead and eat till you're full".

Mayu blushed and nodded towards the kindness these strangers were giving her. But it soon came to an end at the tanned youth's pushiness.

"OK . . . . Let's hear your story now".

"Well . . . . "

Sensing her stalling Yuka questioned her next. "Mayu-chan, did you run away?"

". . . ."

"What's your phone number?"

"No!" The group of friends was taken back from the child's outburst. "You can't!"

"Why not?" then asked Nyu.

"Oi, let's hear your story" said Kohta trying to sound as sympathetic as possible. "I'm sure your parents are worried".

Mayu's eyes then appeared soulless at the mentioning of her parents as she recalled what kind of people they were. "I'm sorry . . . . I can't say anything . . . ."

They then finished the rest of their meal in that awkward atmosphere as Mayu soon left with her dog once more.

The group of friends sat around the table contemplating what they should do about their current dilemma. They all knew something was wrong. Whatever it was it must have been bad. But the question now was what they were going to do about it.

"Is it OK to just leave her like this?" asked Kohta although it was more of an out load thought since he already knew the right answer.

"No" replied Yuka. "It just didn't seem right for us to pry".

"What will we do?" then asked Nyu. Silence settled for a while. But Kaede already knew what they had to do, and so did the others without the need of any words needing to be exchanged.

* * *

Things weren't looking good for Mayu. She just learned her supply of food was being cut off as the bakery she usually went too was now closing meaning she now had to search for new revenue of food. As she returned back to her 'home' on the beach, memories of her past began to flood her mind as she recalled how her life was until now. She loved her mother very dearly, but her mother loved her new 'father' more. But it wasn't for this reason that she hated him.

* * *

~ Flashback ~

Years ago during the time when her mother got together with that man, that man asked her to come to his room as he sat calmly on his bed looking smugly at her.

"Mayu, hurry up and take your cloths off for daddy".

The younger Mayu unable to do anything to resist had no choice but to agree. But even at her age then she knew something about this was wrong and didn't want to do it. However she was far too small by comparison to do anything about it. As she stood completely bare to him, she was completely at his mercy.

"Now turn around and get on all fours so I can get a better look".

As these times went on for months, 'that man' would touch every part of her body making her feel quite disgusted with everything that was going on. So disgusted she cried deeply each time it happened.

But one day she could not endure the despair anymore as she wanted the sadness to stop. So she went to her mother, the person she loved the most to save her from this agony. But it was all for naught . . . .

"Mommy! I can't stand it anymore. That man . . . . it's enough!".

But what she received is returned was ridicule as a hard slap met her face from the person she believed would grant her salvation. "You're the one I don't want. You think I'm going to pity you even if you cry?" The next words would forever be burned onto her soul. "I don't care if you disappeared off the face of this Earth".

The fact was . . . . her mother was jealous of her . . . . jealous that 'that man' preferred her over her mother. But if this was the fullest extent of what her existence meant . . . . This was all that was waiting for her down the road . . . . Then she had enough, she could not no longer endure for there was simply no more hope left.

And so . . . .

"What? Hurry up and take your top off".

". . . . No" and with a burst of what she was feeling. "I can't take this anymore!"

From there she ran . . . . and she continued to run never looking back and never wanting to be caught again . . . .

~ End Flashback ~

* * *

But life was definitely not giving her any breaks as Wanta was soon forcibly returned back to its owner as she was shunned for so many things she knew nothing about. As she sat in her shed looking over the twilight, all she could do was think quietly to herself as to why life decided to be so cruel to her even on such a day as today. But from the time she decided to run away, she promised she would never cry again. But it was hard to keep that promise seeing as she had lost so much easily within one day.

Realization came to her and there was something she still wanted to do. "Oh yeah, I still have to say good-bye to the baker lady". Even that was a cold good-bye as the baker immediately dismissed her as she was busy getting things packed to leave the next day. As the saying goes, 'when it rain it pours', in this case both literally and metaphorically as Mayu dragged herself back to her shed for cover from the storm. As she sat there cold and wet from the rain she couldn't believe that things could possibly get any worse.

"Oi! What are you doing over there? There's a large wave warning! Come over here!"

Mayu saw it was a patrolling officer making sure the area was safe. But if she was caught she knew what it would mean, and that was returning to the place she tried to desperately escape from. So in doing the only thing she could do she ran and continued to run no matter what. But she soon found herself cornered as police officers were finding her actions rather suspicious.

"Stop running, just come with us to the station and we'll send you home already".

The young brunette went to the fetal position as she was now scared of her inevitable fate. "_I . . . . I don't want to go back . . . .please don't make me go back . . . . please don't make me go back!_"

"I'm sorry Mr. officer. But that girl happens to be my squirt of a little sister". Everyone looked up to see a short pink haired girl looking to them. "Sorry for the mess, but our household tends to get a bit crazy like that".

"Tsk, just make sure to keep a better watch. Dangerous things can happen on these times of the night" and with that they left as Mayu joined Kaede under the umbrella as she escorted her back to the Maple Inn.

"Why did you help me?"

Kaede chuckled as she looked to her. "It's a bit of a long story that would take a while to explain".

" . . . . You don't have to take me back there. I don't want to be imposing on you".

"Don't worry, and besides today is supposed to be a special isn't it?"

Mayu looked to her curiously to what she meant. But it soon became clear as confetti and twirlers went flying all around her the moment she stepped in.

"Happy Birthday!"

The young brunette looked on in astonishment as she could not find the right words to explain how she was feeling. "But why . . . .?"

"Because it's your birthday of course" said Kaede as she pushed her inside closing the door behind her.

There on the dining room table was a cake addressed specifically to her with other food items surrounding it.

"We heard from the bakery yesterday" said Kohta. "This cake is from that lady".

Mayu looked to the pastry in happiness. "It was really awkward that she didn't even say good bye. But she did say take care of yourself".

Kohta stepped forward once more. "We don't know much about you because you don't want to talk. But if it's OK please stay here until you're back on your feet. It would give us a piece of mind and we want you to be here. But it return we'd like you to clean and cook".

"Cleaning is your job" then said Yuka.

"Ah, um?"

"I believe that's what they call extortion" then added in Nyu.

Mayu could feel her insides breaking as it seemed all of this was simply too good to be true. "No, that's not right. I'll only be a burden" as tears now began to stream down her cheeks.

Kaede then approached her from behind as she patted her on the head. "It's OK, you'll be fine now".

Not being able to take it anymore she cried onto Kohta's chest as life was finally beginning to look a bit better now even when things looked so bleak. "My tears . . . . I thought I would cry when I was sad. It's weird . . . . even though I happy . . . . I'm crying".

As her tears continued on through the night, Wanta sat waiting at the entrance to the Maple Inn not wishing to desert her either.

To be continued . . . .

* * *

Author's notes: As it would appear I'm using the anime/manga as a template for the chapters. I do apologize if the twists don't seem exciting enough. But I assure you that I will try harder because there are some key events later in the story that will be changed. But here is a spoiler, I'll explain later why Mayu's life up till now had been so miserable and how it was Kaede's fault it was like that.

Now back to the chapter, here is another spoiler and a quick fact about me. I'm a pacifist by nature (to a certain extent anyways). But when it comes to creeps like Mayu's step-dad I wouldn't mind breaking my fist off his face as a permanent symbol for all women to stay away from him. So you can guess what's going to happen next chapter.

**Snowy-Sonya** – Well bon a petite (did I spell that right?). Anyways thank you for reading and I hope you still stick around till the end.

**alvarorbenavides** – I just hope I can make them very good because there are a few chapters I just can't wait to write as they were the ones I had thought the most about.

**DelVaro** – A lot more then that if you're going by the manga version. But I hope to meet your expectations in this story.

**RadonMax** – Thank you for the advice. But for the things kept the same I have something big planned for that to why events are playing out like that even though Kaede's timeline is completely different.

**diadem15** – Thank you for reading, but concerning that request it will most likely be written in a separate 'patch' story which will fill in blanks that I had not mentioned or couldn't. But unfortunately I won't get around to it until after this story is done. So I do apologize for the wait.

**redrain8696** – I thank you for the compliment and thanks to your sister for her interest in the story.

**TURP** – The 'patch' story will essentially fill in all the blanks I've missed through this story such as lemon scenes or events I left ambiguous. But I'm still under debate whether or not if I should do it.

So now I thank you all for reading this fic and also further extend my gratitude if you can review it as well.


	25. Hope

Chapter 25: Hope

Synopsis: It is said in eastern belief that the soul is composed of four elements. Love, courage, desire, and of course hope. It is these four elements that give humans the capacity to exceed the expectations and boundaries that were once believed impossible to break. Amongst the four elements, hope is one of the strongest traits that have stood the test of time against discord and chaos during the darkest hours of human kind.

Reminder: I do not own Elfen Lied or any characters associated with it

"talking"

_thoughts_

_

* * *

_

"I'm leaving!" called Mayu happily as she ran out the door.

"Come home early" responded Yuka.

It had been a week since the young adolescent had come to live in Maple Inn. Since that time many changes were made to incorporate her into their little family. For starters Mayu was now legally under their custody to which a few other arrangements were also necessary such as school relocation, tuition, paper work, and a few others minor necessities. Although it was a bit troublesome for the gang to get everything into motion it was well worth it seeing that child smile again.

But the hardest part about all this was finding her parents to sign over her custody to them.

"She's been getting brighter every day after starting school" smiled Yuka. She then looked to see Kohta still laying head face down onto the pillow and Kaede resting on the table with her head turned towards them.

"But to let Mayu-chan just transfer like that . . . . and to let her stay with strangers . . . . it isn't like a normal mother" said Kohta as he was deep in thought about the circumstance. "But it's hard to believe what Kaede-san said. Although when you think about it, it's the most likely case. But it isn't something you really want to acknowledge".

Kaede nodded her head slightly as she too was thinking about it. During her time at the orphanage, she had many varied experiences when it came to people. But more towards her age group at the time. Although she didn't understand it then, some of the orphans came from pretty rough backgrounds which resulted to why they always acted out towards others or were always so introverted making them jittery when it came to communication with others. As much as she didn't like to admit it Takeshi, Rika, and those other two boys were probably in the same boat as they just wanted an outlet for all the bad things that had ever happened to them.

Concerning Mayu, she showed all the signs by her experience of a troubled kid with some nasty parents. But at recalling the memory of meeting with Mayu's parents she couldn't help but inwardly smirk at what she did.

"But Kaede-san was it really necessary to do all that?" asked Kohta. "We don't know for sure if that was the case and what if they tell someone?"

"Don't worry, they won't" smirked Kaede.

* * *

~ Flashback ~

At Mayu's home, Kohta and Kaede sat calmly as they waited for Mayu's mother to finish the official signing of the documentation making Mayu legally under their jurisdiction.

As they waited, the pair watched calmly as the young brunette's mother was signing away her life to people she didn't even know. Although Kaede seemed cool and relaxed on the outside she was a raging inferno on the inside. The pink diclonius was already angry from everything she managed to put together thus far. But after meeting the b**ch in person including her bastard husband it was all too clear to her now as all her suspicions were right on the dot.

"If you are done here please let yourself out as you have no further business here" to which the elder woman then got up to leave.

"How can you call yourself her mother?" Mayu's mother turned to the pink figure as she had her eyes shadowed underneath her bangs. Kaede then looked up as her eyes alone now reflected that of a lion ready to pounce at the first sign of weakness to which it instantly turned the atmosphere cold. "She trusted you, so how can you do that to your own child?"

The elder woman narrowed her eyes in annoyance to what she was suggesting. "I have no idea what that brat told you. But she is a lying piece of filth that is only concerned with filling her own desires. Why you took pity on her is beyond me. But good riddance that child is no longer my problem".

Kaede had pretty much hit her point of tolerance as she now wanted to so badly break this b**ch in half. She then got up as she motioned for Kohta to do the same. As she dragged him to the door she turned to smile at him. "Kohta, please wait outside as things are going to get a bit noisy in here".

"Wait, I can't let you do that". But truthfully he was confronting a paradox as he was now facing a moral (or possibly an ethical) problem concerning Mayu's parents. On one hand it was true he was quite angry with Mayu's mistreatment after his pink friend put all the pieces together for him. Just like Kaede, he too wanted to march back in there and bust some heads as a form of repayment for their evil deeds as well as give some form of peace to the young brunette's anguish. However the conundrum was what separated a good person from a bad one. The point of saying you're better then someone is proving it through action of never doing something an evil person would do which would in this case be the use of violence for the reason of negative emotions or misplaced sense of self-righteousness. "Besides . . . . even if she does deserve repentance . . . . Mayu-chan would cry if her mother was hurt".

Kaede looked away briefly. It was rare to see a child's love to be so strong for a parent that deserted them. For Mayu to still love her mother so much after all the crap she put her through. " . . . . She's too good for that". She then marched back in to do exactly what she had been planning to do once the paper work was done.

Kohta sighed as followed deciding to burn off some extra energy of his own and also to make sure his pink friend didn't go overboard with the whole revenge thing. Besides, who said good guys always had to play by the rules, and walking the gray line wasn't so bad once in a while. Especially when the perpetrators were deserving of what was coming their way.

~ End Flashback ~

* * *

"But Kaede-san how many times did you kick that guy 'there'?" Kohta asked as he could only imagine the pain the man was in.

"I'm not sure, but hopefully enough to castrate him. I lost count after his fifth time of him begging me to stop. He'll probably be peeing blood for a while. But after that it's all downhill from there".

"Why is that?"

"Just something I've been experimenting with to which I've rearranged a few of his key hormone regulators ensuring the fact that he is going to have a very hard and painful life from now on".

"What exactly did you do to him?" asked Yuka worriedly.

Kaede sat up placing her hand to her chin as she thought carefully about what she did. "If you remembered anything from your biology class hormone and protein regulation is what keeps the body functioning within its normal parameters through signal transduction going to and from the hypothalamus in the brain. But if one of them becomes over-expressed or stops working altogether then it'll cause major problems for the body to perform its duties under normal conditions".

"So what exactly did you do?"

"For the most part his physical health and appearance is equivalent to that of a sickly near death eighty year old man in which he has no chance in recovering. In his current condition, he'll have to constantly shell out small fortunes on medical support just to keep his pain and body management in order. But if you really want generalization, I practically caused him multiple organ failure as he will now have to forever live the on the edge and constant fear death" as Kaede exhaled from the explanation. "Hope he enjoys the rest of his miserable life".

"Wow . . . ." said Yuka at seeing how scary Kaede could be when she wanted too.

Kaede smirked, "but Kohta really laid it on thick since he ended up starting it first".

The brunette looked shockingly to her usually peaceful cousin. "What did he do?"

"He just punched his head in knocking a few of his teeth out in the process". The pink diclonius grinned at recalling the memory. "_It was kind of hot to see him do that . . . . although a bit strange for me to feel that_".

"_Kaede-chan personality is really beginning to rub off on Kohta_" the brunette sighed. "But then what makes you so certain that they wouldn't call the cops on you?"

"Kaede-san kind of went a bit overboard and threatened to kill them if they did. Obviously a bluff, but effective nonetheless" Kohta replied as he sweat dropped at recalling what she did.

"But how do you know it worked?"

* * *

"Are you sure ma'am? We've heard reports of a domestic disturbance going on here at this resident" said the officer.

"Then they heard wrong. Nothing happened here".

The officer then looked over to see a freakish looking man as if a gorilla had just got done beating the crap out of him. "And him?"

"He fell down a few stairs . . . ."

The law enforcer looked to him in disbelief. "This amount of damage from a few stairs?" he asked questionably.

"He fell quite far" said Mayu's mother instantly trying to sound as truthful as possible.

* * *

"Oh I'm sure" smirked Kaede.

"But then what of her mother?" asked Yuka curious of her fate.

"It was as Kohta said. Even though that b**ch wasn't deserving of it Mayu would cry if we brought harm onto her. Besides one day she'll have to face her. But that time will come later when she is ready". She then got up to grab her bag and books. "Well we better be off then. This is our first day of classes after all and Nyu is waiting for us".

The trio soon left to the university. There they met Nyu who seemed to be becoming quite popular with the club recruiters. This was the first day of classes to which orientation was going on to welcome all incoming freshman. It was at this time that pretty much every new student would get harassed by returning veterans for three reasons. One was to join their club or fraternity. Two was to get fresh pickings at new meat. Third was simply to exert their seniority over them. Aside from all that the day was pleasant to say the least as they got their transcripts to which they all sat down together for the small time they had to get some lunch before going to their classes.

"Hey Kohta, have you decided on which club you're joining?" asked Yuka.

"I haven't really decided yet. They all seem really interesting, but I only have time for at least one or two of them and that's if my schedule fits them all. So what did everyone else decide on?"

"I want to join the choir club!" said Nyu excitedly.

"I don't think I'll be able to join a club seeing my schedule is quite busy since I'm majoring in biology and working towards a higher degree".

"Really? I'm also going into the biological field" replied Kohta. "Observations of evolution and morphological changes were really interesting. That's the whole reason why I got into the field".

Yuka then looked to her watch as she then got up to leave. "It looks like its times up now. I've got to go to class. So if you'll excuse me".

"She's right" then said Kaede. "I've got to head off to class as well".

"Alright, see everyone later then" said Kohta as he waved his cousin and girlfriends good-bye before going off to his class.

Nyu smiled as she waved them all off. As she turned to leave she saw a familiar face walk by her although he couldn't see her seeing as he was blind after having that run in with Lucy from a few nights before. She then gave a soft smile at seeing him in good condition before departing. (If you're wondering why Bando was at the university then read the manga. More information will be in the author's notes).

As classes ended the group of friends headed straight home as it soon drew close to evening as the day soon became twilight.

"We're home" they called as they walked into Maple Inn.

"Welcome home" answered Mayu as she had just finished cleaning the floor. "You've had a hard day. I've already made dinner and set up the bath. Which will you choose?"

"_Wow, talk about the old fashion house wife_ _routine_" thought Kaede.

"Umm . . . . Mayu-chan" said Yuka. "There's no need to worry about such things. You're a family member here, not a servant. You don't have to worry yourself over everything like that".

"No" interjected the young brunette. "Because you've taken me in, this is all I really can do in return".

"Well . . . . is it OK for me to take a bath first?" asked Kohta to which Mayu nodded shyly too. The tanned youth then made his way towards the indoor spring as he then stripped himself down before walking into the pond like bath. He then sat there for a while to allow the hot water to wash away his troubles. "That kid really tries too hard worrying about everything like that".

"What do you mean?"

Kohta looked to the ceiling as he considered the question. "Mayu-chan is taking this whole 'paying back' thing too greatly as she is trying very hard to fit in. I think maybe she's worried about being discarded again".

"I don't think so. Mayu-chan is a really nice girl. This is probably how she wants to thank us for taking care of her".

"Perhaps, but as Kaede-san said we can't keep her like this for the rest of her life. Eventually she'll have to face her past in order to move on into her future".

"True, true, oneesan is always very wise when it comes to these kinds of things".

"Yeah . . . . " Kohta's eyes then snapped open as he had now just realized he was holding a conversation with someone who was in the bath with him. He then straightened his head to see Nyu sitting right across from him blushing and waving to him. His mouth immediately gaped in reaction to this event. "What are you doing in here?"

"Why are you acting so shy?" Nyu questioned. "It isn't like this is the first we've been together naked. Let alone did some fun things together" to which the ditzy girl snickered this last part.

"I know that" stuttered Kohta as he blushed at that remark. "But Nyu-san . . . ."

"Not Nyu-san!" she then interjected. "Nyu-chan!" as she pointed demandingly at him. "And from now on you'll address oneesan as Kaede-chan!".

"But . . . . Nyu-san . . . ."

Nyu sighed as she lowered her hand. She then got up to which Kohta covered his eyes in embarrassment but couldn't help but peek through his fingers as the ditzy girl soon repositioned herself right next to him.

"Nyu-san . . . .?"

The pink girl then grabbed his arm as it was soon enveloped between her bosoms before she leaned her head onto his shoulder. "You don't have to be formal with us anymore Kohta-kun. You, me, and oneesan aren't just friends anymore, we're lovers. So you don't need to address us like we're distant people from you anymore".

Kohta was feeling a bit heated as he tried to ignore where his arm was as well as tried to ignore the heat that was growing inside of him. "_But maybe if I just follow her request she'll allow this to end. But I'm going to need a cold shower after this_". He then turned his head to look down to her trying his best to focus at her eyes and nowhere else as he forced a smile onto his face. "Na . . . . Nyu-chan . . . ."

"Yes" she replied with an unusually overly cute sunny smile.

"Umm . . . ."

"Kohta-kun . . . ."

"Ye . . . . Yeah?"

Nyu then pushed herself a bit closer as her cheeks began to turn a slight darker shade of red. "Say my name again just like you did before".

The tanned youth gulped at the request as his blush began to turn darker. "Nyu-chan".

The ditzy girl began to lean closer as she stretched her head forward to meet his. "Again . . . ."

"Nyu-chan" as Kohta soon found himself leaning down to meet her.

"Again" she then whispered pushing her chin up for her lips to meet his.

"Nyu-chan" he then replied as he soon began to find himself lost in his heat.

Slowly they began to come together with their lips meeting in the center as Kohta's hands maneuvered themselves to her hips as Nyu wrapped her arms around his neck. But in such events like this, things like this should never be done especially when there is more than one person living in the same household as you.

"Kohta-san, is everything OK in there? I hope the water is not too hot. Oh my! I forgot to place the towels inside. Please excuse my intrusion" as Mayu's hand reached for the sliding door handle.

"Oh crap! Mayu is coming in" Kohta exclaimed in a whisper like tone.

"There is nowhere to hide" said Nyu as the pair looked back and forth attempting to avoid a catastrophe with the adolescent.

As Mayu walked in she immediately covered her eyes in embarrassment. "I'm sorry for intruding". She then turned around picking up the towels as she etched her way towards the racks. "So is the water OK". At this time she was too embarrassed to look at him for the fact was she had boy problems and looking at a half-naked pre-adult was not helping.

"I . . . . I'm fine" Kohta stuttered out trying to sound as calm as possible. He then fidgeted in the water in his attempt to remain calm.

"_Is there something wrong with him?_" "If there is anything else I can get you then . . . . ."

"No!" Kohta exclaimed as his body jolted forward a bit. "Everything is fine here. So it's OK for you to leave now".

"OK" Mayu replied carefully. "But come out soon or dinner will get cold".

"OK, thanks" but as soon as the young brunette left the tanned youth began to twitch uncontrollably from what was going on down under.

"You seem more stressed out then usual" said Yuka as she looked to her cousin who had just returned from his bath. "Are you coming down with something?"

Kohta's shoulders then sagged as he let out a sigh before sitting himself at the table.

"And what happened to you?" as Kaede examined her sister. "You seem . . . . brighter than usual".

"Really?" Nyu replied. "I don't actually think so" even though she had a big fat smile plastered across her face.

* * *

The next day soon arrived as everyone went about their usual routine. Mayu went off to her middle school as everyone soon departed to their university.

There day was like any other day as they went to class like usual. But today was different as Kohta, Yuka, and Nyu had a special lecture class to share that day. Seemingly to be like any other lecture the three friends did their assigned task.

Kohta would fall asleep by account of lectures usually being pretty boring.

Yuka would attempt to keep her cousin awake as to avoid from him getting into trouble.

Nyu taking notes while also drawing on her notebook seeing as that day's lecture really wasn't that important.

"Kohta, if you don't stay awake we'll get into trouble with the lecturer. Many people say the guy is rather cruel. So who knows what he might do to us" said Yuka.

Kohta yawned as he raised his head from his spot. "Why are you so worried? This lecture is just something we freshman are forced to go to anyways, and it isn't like they're testing us on any of the material".

"I know that, but you don't know if he might say important that we need to know".

Kohta yawned again as he waved his cousin off. "You shouldn't really concern yourself with that. Besides Nyu-sa . . . . Nyu-chan is already doing a great job at taking notes. So it shouldn't really be much of a problem".

Yuka sighed in response to this as she looked over to the ditzy girl's notebook. "_Is this what you call note taking?_" for the fact was the majority of her paper was covered in doodle art consisting mostly of kittens and flowers. "_Hopefuly Kakuzawa-sensei won't call on us for anything_ ".

Right on cue the middle aged man came walking down their aisle as the three friends were still continuing their original tasks.

"Kohta, he's coming. At least look awake" as Yuka attempted to shake him awake.

". . . ."

"You really need to wake up now".

". . . ."

"Get up now!"

"Yuka! Stop poking my sides!" as Kohta looked to her with agitation etched onto his face. But because of his outcry he also gained the attention of his lecturer as he was now standing next to their row. "_Well at least it's a perfect excuse to skip this boring lecture by being kicked out_". He then looked up to see horror completely overtake the middle-aged man. "_What's wrong with him?_"

"_There is no mistaking it! This is Lucy. What is she doing here?_" thought Kakuzawa as he was now panicking about the potential fact that he was either going to lose his life or his testes". Since there existed no vaccine for the diclonius virus the only option was to cut off the infected individual's ability to reproduce.

"Sorry for causing a commotion like this sensei. We'll be leaving now. Come on girls" as Kohta made his hasty retreat followed by Yuka and Nyu.

"_But something doesn't seem right. If that was Lucy she would have definitely known who I was and definitely would not have hesitated to kill me_". So tempting his life's fate "Wait!"

"Now what" as the trio stopped at the door to face him.

Kakuzawa then appeared in front of Nyu as he looked down to her. "Do you know me?"

The girl in question titled her head slightly and looked to him wondering if there was a reason to why she should know who he was.

"Class is cancelled" Kakuzawa announced. He then looked to the trio sternly before looking away. "I want to see you three in my office now".

A moment later they soon found themselves in the teacher faculty as Kakuzawa began to question them.

"How do you know this girl?"

"She's a close friend of mine" said Kohta, but then was interrupted as Nyu gave a slight cough which caused Kohta to sigh bit. "She's actually my girlfriend" as he then blushed while averting his eyes.

"_Girlfriend! What the hell is this nonsense!_" thought Kakuzawa as he continued to examine them. ". . . . _perhaps he is being coerced by Lucy. She only escaped a few days ago so that would give her plenty of time to make them do whatever she told them to do_". "Then you wouldn't mind telling me more about your past now would you?" "_I'll catch you soon enough_" At this time the unshaven man was certain that the girl standing before him was most certainly Lucy. There was a good chance she didn't know his face since the room she was kept in was poorly lit in addition to the helmet she always wore. But taking this on a gamble, he assumed Lucy would not kill him there seeing as she would want to remain as inconspicuous as possible. But in addition to this, he also had a strong sedative hidden in his pocket at the one chance he would take her by surprise and knock her out if she proved aggressive.

Nyu placed her finger over her lip as she looked up. "Where do I begin?"

As the ditzy diclonius talked about her back story, Kakuzawa was becoming more dumbstruck by the minute. "_Is she for real? This has to be some kind of trick. Who does she think she is fooling?_"

"And that's pretty much everything" said Nyu as she wrapped it all up with a warm smile.

"It's getting pretty late sensei" as Kohta looked to his watch. "We better get going now".

"_No! if they leave now I might lose my chance entirely!_" "Well you see the reason I ask all these questions is because you look remarkably like the daughter of my late older brother. The thing was he died and she went missing. So I thought maybe you might know something about it".

Kohta, Yuka, and Nyu looked at each other before looking at Kakuzawa as if he were stupid or something. "I don't have an uncle" Nyu plainly stated. "Both of my parents were only childs".

"If the questions are done" Kohta interjected. "We'll be going now".

The unshaven man feeling agitated at how the situation was turning out decided to go for the direct route this time. He needed confirmation that this girl was at least a diclonius and not just some miraculous body double of Lucy. He then stood up aggressively as he struck his arm out to grab the ribbons out of her hair.

"Ahhh" as Nyu placed her hands over her horn in attempt to keep the cloth attached. With the longest time of being with Kaede, she made it a point for the ditzy girl to instantly react to protect her horn coverings as if her life depended on it.

"Sensei! What the hell are you doing?" as Kohta peeled his arms away before trying to force the older man back.

At seeing the growing trouble Yuka ran to the door as she called out to anyone who would listen. "Help! Help! A teacher is attacking someone!"

"Knock it off!" to which the tanned youth successfully landed his fist onto the older man's jaw causing him to crash to the ground.

"Insolent brat!" as Kakuzawa was getting back up for another go. But soon was stopped as both students and teachers filtered into the room to restrain the man. "Let go of me! Do you think you can do this to me you f**king brat!"

* * *

"That was scary" said Yuka. "For Kakuzawa-sensei to act so irrationally like that, who would have thought such a man would behave like that".

"Well according to him, he did lose his niece" Kohta responded. "So he must have been pretty stressed about the entire event if he was acting like that".

"Perhaps, but he was lucky to get away with just a minor penalty because of his standing with the university". Then something became apparent to the brunette as they were missing one pink head in the group. "Where's Nyu-chan?"

"She said she forgot something in the library. So we're going to meet her back home".

"Do you think she'll be alright?"

"Of course she'll be OK. After all what could possibly to happen to her, right?"

Nyu at this time had managed to retrieve one of her books as she was now happily skipping back home humming to herself. Her thoughts then turned back to Kakuzawa's rants which worried her slightly. However they were soon disregarded as she happily walked along.

But then her sixth sense tingled as she walked along the open courtyard. Although this sense had nothing to do with her psychic powers, it was more like something she developed after many years of facing dangerous situations. However the peculiar thing was there was no reason for her to feel afraid at this time. She was in a safe environment and simply there was no reason for anyone to target her whatsoever.

But the amazing thing about life is how things can instantly change within a single breath as the ditzy girl now found herself under attack as a cloth was forced over her nose and mouth. Before she knew it, she blacked out only to find herself in an unknown room with her arms tied to a rope attached to the ceiling. As Nyu came to realize the situation she was in she could only sigh at how things came to be. "_If only I had a nickel for everytime . . . ._"

"You're her, you're definitely her. There is no doubt about that". Nyu looked up groggily to see a familiar unshaven man sitting at his desk in front of a computer. "There is definitely no such thing as coincidence in this world. You are definitely Lucy". The man chuckled at the revelation as he reviewed all his data. "All the physical information directly points that you are definitely her".

"Kakuzawa-sensei, why are you doing this?" At this time Nyu attempted to focus her vectors to cut herself free. However the chloroform was still running through her system which made it nearly impossible to lift something let alone cut herself loose.

"Why? I'm going to study you of course in which I'm going to need a lot of research material". He then got up to remove his wig as a maniacal smile then took shape on his face as his head revealed two small horns. "We are alike after all and what better way to study lineages but through you".

Nyu looked up to see that one of her ribbons were indeed undone revealing one of her horns.

"But that's not all I'm going to do". Kakuzawa then proceeded into undoing his dress shirt as he unfastened his tie. "I'm also going to collect my due compensation from letting you out of the shithole you crawled out from".

". . . . !"

"My father may have his plans for you. But you see I have my own as it is my dream to see the birth of a newer and more superior human race. However more than that is that I will be the god of this new race as I will personally father a new species onto this Earth". He then advanced on Nyu as he grabbed her shoulders attempting to force a kiss onto her.

But not wishing to give him the chance she moved her face away while simultaneously cocking her knee back which then struck her aggressor right on the family jewels.

Kakuzawa cringed in pain but that only forced his maniacal smile to stretch further as he then went to his desk to pull out a syringe. "By the time you wake up you'll be the proud mother of a new species of human who will decimate the arrogant old ones of this Earth. So you should feel honored to be a part of this process".

Nyu looked fearfully to him as she was running out of time and options about what to do. As she tried to use her vectors once more a strange feeling came over her as Kakuzawa was now standing in front of her inches away from putting her to sleep and defiling her in the process.

Just centimeters away from completing the deed, blood splatter shot across her face. For it was at this time she looked in shock to her dead attacker as his head was cleanly cut off as it then rolled off his shoulders followed by his body crumbling to the ground, but not before acting like a blood fountain for those few moments.

As Nyu watched in horror, it was not her who performed the deed of murder but the person who stood behind the recently created corpse.

Although it was usually customary to thank your savior, this was a different case as her savior was not the kind of person you would want to be hanging around with for very long.

Nyu then fell to the floor as her savior had then cut the ropes which bonded her to the ceiling.

As she looked up to the person who had saved her moments ago, all her face could do was show concern and wariness as she now stood up to face this person. As she looked into the cold dead eyes of this woman she gulped as she could only find herself able to say this. "Hello Lucy".

". . . ."

"Why did you save me?"

". . . . You know why . . . ."

* * *

"Man, where did that girl go off too?" as Kohta ran back to the university. Since the time he left an hour had easily passed which started to make him feel concerned. Although he knew he shouldn't feel too concerned about it seeing as the ditzy diclonius easily had the power to wipe out an entire army at the motion of a thought he couldn't help but want to make sure himself.

Yuka and Kaede too had their concerns of her late coming. But they were certain she would be OK seeing if Nyu was in any kind of trouble Kaede would instantly pick her up through a telepathic connection.

But regardless of that Kohta decided to go out anyways to look for her.

By the time he arrived onto the campus all he could do was wonder at the sight that was before him. "What is all this?" There is front of him was a bunch of black suited men as they were apparently combing the area in search for something as it appeared. As he tried to progress, he was immediately stopped by one of the said suited men.

"What do you think you are doing here boy?"

Kohta scrunched his eyebrows at seeing how serious the man was taking his job . . . . whatever it was. "I'm a student here and I was looking for a friend of mine who might still be on campus. So if you'll excuse me . . . ."

"I'm afraid this area has been restricted for the time being. Please return back another time".

"Then may I talk to Kakuzawa-sensei then?" asked Kohta. During his walk back to the university he speculated that perhaps the unshaven man probably was holding Nyu up in order to apologize to her. "_But that doesn't seem right_". If anything, the tanned youth was a good judge of character, and something about that professor just screamed out that he should be wary of him.

"I'm sorry, but he is currently indisposed at the moment".

"Hmm? Why is that?"

"He is currently on leave seeing as the dean had now decided to suspend him for the time being".

"_Suspension?_" "Strange, but do you know if he is still on campus? Or when will he be back?"

"I'm sorry, but I do not know any more than that. So please remove yourself or have yourself removed off campus by security".

"Jeez, don't need to be so touchy" to which Kohta soon left feeling baffled at everything that had just occurred.

He then began to walk home wondering where that girl could have gone until a flash of pink glimmered in his eye which immediately caught his attention. "Nyu!" Although he called out to her the girl did not turn around as she still continued to walk. "_Weird, she should have heard me_". He soon caught up to her as he embraced the petite girl within his arms from behind. "I was so worried about you Nyu-chan. You should have come home sooner".

". . . ."

* * *

"Nyu! Where have you been?" asked Kaede as she berated her sister. "You should have been home over an hour ago".

"Sorry oneesan" Nyu replied half-embarrassed as she rubbed the back of her head. "I was kind of tied up in situation. So it took me a bit longer to get home".

The pink diclonius sighed as she got up to smack her sister over the head, but lightly. "One of these days you're going to be the death of me you know that".

The ditzy girl smiled as she gave her sister a hug. "Don't worry, I'll work harder so that oneesan won't have to worry over me all the time".

Kaede sighed again as she peeled her sister off so she could return back to her previous task of making dinner for everyone.

"By the way Nyu-chan, Kohta went out to look for you. Did you happen to see him along the way?" asked Yuka.

Nyu thought carefully about this before she turned to smile at the brunette. "Can't say that I did. But I'm sure he'll show up soon".

On cue of her statement the sound of the front door could be heard as someone soon stepped into the building. "_And speak of the devil . . . ._"

"Kohta-kun!" Nyu cheered as she immediately jumped onto him giving him a big hug in the process.

"Ahh Nyu-chan, you seem to be feeling back to your normal self" smiled Kohta.

"Normal?" the ditzy girl questioned.

"Nyu-chan, I thought you said you didn't see Kohta on your way back" said Yuka as she gave her pink haired friend a quizzical look.

Nyu then squeezed her eyes closed as if deep in thought about something. As wrinkles began to form on her face her expression then snapped back to normal. "Sorry, I was very deep in thought about something so I must have been completely oblivious about everything that was going on around me. Sorry for ignoring you like that Kohta-kun" as she then planted a kiss on his cheek.

The tanned youth chuckled at the response as he patted his girlfriend on the head. "Well as long as everything is OK". He then proceeded along with Yuka to dining table. "Oh, and there was this weird thing that happened at the university . . . ."

As they got further away an uncharacteristic frown appeared on Nyu's face as it appeared something was most definitely on her mind. But she then patted her cheeks returning her smile to the way it was before going to the dining table to join her family for the evening meal.

* * *

"Hey Wanta! Over here!" called Mayu as she watched her dog happily run into her arms.

On this particular day the young brunette had decidedly taken her dog for a walk on the beach. But wishing to enjoy the afternoon sun and allowing the pup some extra exercise, the pair played happily as they enjoyed their time together. But her attention was then immediately captured by another individual who was on the beach.

"This is such a filthy ocean" as Bando took out a cigarette. "Hmm, what are you looking at?" as he saw the petite child staring aimlessly at him.

"Thank god, you seemed like you were done for" said Mayu as an expression of relief appeared on her face.

"Huh? Am I supposed to know you?" But after thinking it over for a few minutes a light bulb lit in his head as he then recognized the voice of the young brunette. "Are you . . . . by any chance that girl from that time?" Bando looked down to her as he further concentrated on the matter. "Hmm, it seems so".

Mayu however looked back at him with astonishment. "Amazing, you were fixed up really well. Your right hand it there too. Thank god".

"Be quiet . . . ." to which Mayu became silent at the elder man's request. As he looked to the child Bando began to grow irritated at how events had transpired. "Ahh shit, now I'm indebted to you and this isn't the kind of crap I . . . ." as he gave a low growl. "You know . . . . it's my principle to not be indebted to anyone. Especially to a woman which would be you brat". The elder man then let out a heavy sigh. "I'll pay you back. So what do you want of me?"

Mayu gave him a confused look. In her young life it was her belief that humans helped each other simply because it was the right thing to do and nothing more to which she expected nothing back in return. As for her answer, "Uhh, that's OK"

"Stop that!" said Bando as his irritation began to swell. "It's not for your pleasure, it's my question! C'mon spit it out!"

But all the young brunette could do was look away shyly from how pushy the man was being in trying to show his gratefulness.

"Ahh fine then! I'll decide for you!" Bando then took out a notepad as he began to scribble his personal information onto the page. "If you get into a pinch someday it'll be my turn to save you. When you want to be saved just call this number and I'll kill them for you. So here is my contact information" handing her the slip of paper. "Okay? I'll definitely save you. So with this my debt to you is repaid. But remember this is a onetime deal. So think about it before you decide to waste it on some trivial crap, you got it brat?"

As Mayu finished reading over the information she looked up to smile at her hired gun. "Thank you".

Bando grunted as he blushed in embarrassment. "_First time ever being thanked for this kind of shit_".

The pair then looked up as they saw a storm setting in. But before he decided to leave he had another thing on his mind that he wanted to know. "By the way, do you know anything about a girl with horns?"

The young brunette looked to him curiously at why he would want to know that. "Would you happen to be talking about Kaede-san or . . . ."

Instantly Bando threateningly grabbed her by the shirt as he lifted her one inch off the ground. "Where is she?" as bloodlust now clouded his mind. Simply he was itching at the chance to get his revenge. But the problem was he had no clues to go by as that pink b**ch could be anywhere by now. At this point he was too enraged to be told otherwise.

"I . . . . I just know her name. I don't know where she lives" "_But I don't want to be causing any trouble for anyone at the inn_".

The hot blooded man began to grow more impatient at her answer. "Did you try to lie to me! You just called that b**ch by name and you should know I don't forgive women or children. Now tell me the truth or I'll strangle you!"

Mayu keeping her wits about her then reached into her pocket as she dragged out a piece of paper from before as she flashed the parchment to her attackers face. "I'm in a pinch . . . ."

"What the f**k, why the pretense?"

"I'm in great danger, save me please" as Mayu looked to him with puppy dog eyes.

Bando for a lack of better words was stunned at the audacity of the victim he was both attacking and needing to save. "Are you an idiot? This is hardly the time to use that now!"

"Before . . . . You said 'you'd definitely save me' from before right? Was that a lie? You are a man too . . . ." But before she could finish emasculating him she was then thrown to the ground as she felt her head being pressed into the sand.

"Alright I got it!" as he felt peeved at how things turned out. "Shit! Get lost and I better not see you around here again, got it?" to which he then turned around to leave.

As soon as he left, Mayu picked herself up brushing any sand that dirtied her uniform away as she looked to her dog that was looking back at her worriedly. "It's alright, that didn't hurt much". She then looked to see the man clearly gone as she too turned around to leave. "Let's go home now Wanta".

But unbeknownst to her Bando watched her leave as he peeked behind the wood shed making sure the young brunette was able to get up to go home safely. "Seems like I didn't injure her", "_shit_" as he then decided to officially leave. For the fact was he may have been a bastard, but at least he was a bastard with some sense of honor. Although it was something he would never admit to anyone else.

* * *

Another day passed as the hot blooded man was now working as a civil servant in cleaning up the beach. Although the pay was a joke, it still provided him some income to take care of his needs such as food. However that was only second to why he would go through the trouble of cleaning up a filthy beach in the first place. For the fact was he was setting the stage for his revenge against the woman who maimed him roughly a week ago. By taking away all the trash in the area, he would have effectively gained the distance superiority over his prey as she would be forced to engage him in close to mid-range combat to which he would never give her the chance to do. But the problem now was figuring out how to find her let alone luring her to his battleground.

"Damn it! Stop contaminating the ocean you dumbasses!" as Bando filled his fourth bag that day in garbage. "Jeez, what a f**king refreshing morning this has been" as he decided to take a quick cigarette break. But out from the corner of his eye, a large object then caught his attention. "Why is there some big luggage floating this way?"

But the moment 'the big luggage' reached shore it immediately popped open revealing the contents inside.

"Where am I?" as Nana had now awoken from her long sleep.

To be continued . . . .

* * *

Author's notes: In the manga, Bando went to the university because he heard there was a cure to the diclonius virus there which of course was being developed by Kakuzawa junior. But after a heated argument between the pair, Bando decided to go with plan B which I believe everyone should know what it was.

Additionally it was said by Kakuzawa jr. that it was he who orchestrated the release of Kaede/Lucy/Nyu is chapter 26. But since he had been cut short in both the literal and metaphorical sense, he could not explain that part in this chapter. As to the reason why he released her , well . . . . it's debatable to exactly why he did it. However a theory into why he released her was so that she could create more "research material" for them to study. But as I said it wasn't ever entirely clear except it was all leading towards the end of the current human race.

Plus it's shown that the 'horn' thing has been in the Kakuzawa family for several generations. How far back exactly has never been said. But judging from the architecture depicted in the manga I'd say it goes as far back as 17th century or probably older than that. Although he says 150,000 years, he's probably exaggerating.

By the way, if you've read the manga and saw the scene where Bando saved Mayu from the 'unknown man' then I guarantee you, you'll have an all new respect for him.

Now back to the chapter, these events will only be set ups to the bigger picture that will happen later. So please be a little more patient as there will be some drastic changes later.

**Snowy-Sonya** – Well she's only what 5 – 7 years old. So considering her age I believe she handled it pretty well. But thank you for reading and do return back quickly after getting a bite to eat.

**Dark09** – True, but I'll explain later why certain events remained the same while other things changed. But anyways thank you for reading and do drop by again.

**alvarorbenavides** – Actually Nana lost all her limbs in both the anime and the manga. The change here is that Kaede and Nyu gave her back two of them. But due to the lack of time they couldn't finish their treatment because they did not wish to be discovered.

**TURP** – Nothing like that I assure you as I really don't like to write about such things as it leaves as rather unpleasant taste in my mouth.

**ForcedDj** – Amen to that. For adults to behave like that is a perversion of what it means to be human let alone a parent in this event. But anyways I'll try to send you the last moments of what Kaede/Lucy/Nyu said before they died.

**redrain8696** – Well I thank both you and your sister for reading, and thank you for your kind patronage. So please drop by again in the next update.

**Codelyokofan23** – Welcome back and thank you for reading. I hope you drop by again in the next update.

So now I thank you all for reading this fic and also further extend my gratitude if you can review it as well.


	26. Perseverance

Chapter 26: Perseverance

Synopsis: Perseverance isn't simply not giving up, but not staying down. When life hits you hard you dust yourself off, pick yourself up, and get moving again. Simply you've got to live your life at full throttle and never back down because that is what it means to persevere against any obstacle. In turn when you reach the end that will be your greatest victory.

Reminder: I do not own Elfen Lied or any characters associated with it

"talking"

_thoughts_

_

* * *

_

Following her defeat and crippled state at the hands of Lucy, Nana was designated for disposal by orders of director Kakuzawa. Simply, she was no longer useful as a test subject or a tracker/retriever for Lucy due to most of her concentration devoted into her new prosthetic limbs. As a matter of fact, no silpelits had ever survived pass the age of eighteen at the facility. Either because they didn't survive the initial experimentation or they were terminated out of fear of allowing their powers to grow stronger. Since they already had floors filled with 'test subjects', losing one or two dicloniuses a day was not a really big concern to them.

It was just so that Nana was unluckily chosen for it now. As she laid on the cold metal table for her end she offered no form of resistance to her soon to be termination as she had promised her 'papa' that she would never do such hostile things to others. There in her final moments was her 'papa' as he had promised her safety even though she herself knew better of what was going to happen as she took his hand for the final time.

A moment later, the cold unforgiving darkness consumed her only for seconds to seemingly pass by as she soon found herself out in the open world again.

Nana then sat up to discover a note taped to her chest. "_To Nana, I have no excuse for lying about the physical examination. It's just, for me, plainly informing you about the parting was too much. Yesterday, the chief issued an order to kill you. But I couldn't, so in absolute secrecy I arranged your escape. Inside this capsule is some money so that you can cope for some time. Try to live quietly and in a remote area. Forget about Lucy. Never let out a word about your past. Nana is now dead. You mustn't start any quarrels. Be a good girl and I'll definitely meet you someday. I can't tell you exactly how many years later that'll be. But let's live together at that time. Kurama_"

The young diclonius began to sob at the contents of the letter. She had now been forced to part with her 'papa' and the way she saw things it was most likely she would never see him again. However there was always hope that she might someday.

"Hey! What's that sticking out of your head? Answer clearly or you won't get away!"

Nana turned to see an older man pointing a gun at her. They shared a short conversation which led nowhere to which they could only agree to disagree on almost everything. At seeing almost zero progression occurring, the armed man to who she would come to know as Bando began to shoot at her. As a result of his actions and words, the young diclonius began to lose herself to 'the voice' as she was now prepared to kill in order to defend herself. After a brief struggle between the two they called a temporary truce as they both came to accept that as much as they didn't like each other they shared a strong and common hatred for the person they both hated more. "_Lucy!_"

As to pertaining to their special talents, Nana would locate and lure Lucy to the beach where Bando would finish the job by accordance to their temporary alliance.

But there were too many problems with their current arrangement as it was. First off, Nana had zero experience with the real world meaning she had no idea how anything worked from basic communication to simple ideas and concepts of society. Furthermore . . . . "How do I even find Lucy?" Ever since her meeting with that person she couldn't understand why it was so difficult to find her. She was able to find her the first few times. But whether or not that was a fluke was something she had no idea about. The young diclonius did know she could feel her presence, but why the feeling eluded her was something new to her. Simply it has never been done before. But more than that it was simply unheard of since no diclonius were able to hide from another because the only way for them not to be felt is either they were completely out of range or they were dead. It was unlikely Lucy just up and died or was able to leave the country unnoticed. "_But how did she do it?_" She personally experienced her presence disappear from her very sight. So somehow she was able to mask her presence making her invisible to other dicloniuses and since it was difficult enough to look for people by 'human' means it was going to be nearly impossible to find Lucy.

"_Without a place to return . . . . Without any food . . . . Nana doesn't understand what to do now . . . . I'm so lonely on my own . . . ._" She then took notice of a small furry creature barking behind her. "What is this?"

"Ah, Excuse me! Usually he doesn't bark like this . . . ."

It was at this time Nana had her encounter with yet another strange human. This particular girl introduced herself as Mayu. But to say the least she immediately fainted the moment her prosthetic leg fell off (not to be too surprised that was going to be her reaction). Almost immediately the two young adolescent pretty much hit it off as they were enjoying each other's company. Earlier that day she was getting many awkward and curious looks from various people either because of her horns or her slightly shredded cloths from her fight with Bando. But at this point she was desperate for company and also food and a place to live if they were possible.

Feeling sorry for the horned youth and sharing a similar background with her she offered her a place to stay (which technically she didn't have the authority for) since she wanted to help her back onto her feet like how the people before her did the same.

* * *

"I'm back" shyly called Mayu as she peeked around the door to see Kohta and Yuka sitting in the dining room area.

"Ahh, Mayu-chan! Where were you? We were very worried about you!"

"I'm . . . . sorry . . . ."

Kohta then took notice to the extra guest who came in with the young brunette. "Hmm? And who is this?" He then took immediate notice to the extra features on her head. "_I guess there are more people like them as Kaede-chan said_".

"Oh, her name is Nana. I was wondering if it would be OK for her to stay here as well since she doesn't have a place to return too".

The cousins looked to each other before looking back to them. "I don't see why not" smiled Yuka.

Kohta then stood up as he approached the young diclonius. He then slanted himself so that they were now face to face with each other. "Welcome to Maple Inn. I hope your stay here will be pleasant".

Nana averted her eyes as she flushed slightly in embarrassment. "Th . . . . Thank you".

"Oh! I almost forgot that you have to meet them".

"Them?"

"Welcome back Mayu-chan! Oh, we have a guest over now?"

Almost instantly the young silpelit's eyes glazed over at seeing her intended target stand right before her. In that instant she blitzed towards her in pure rage intending on paying her back for what she did to her. Although it was not her intention to ever face Lucy again, a part felt quite unresolved if she just let this go.

"Such a noisy guest we have today". In the next moment Nana found herself pinned against the wall as apparently a Lucy duplicate had suddenly appeared as she placed her forearm over her collarbone in a restraining fashion.

Kaede looked to her closely as realization then dawned onto her. "Hey you're that girl! It's good to see that you're all better now!"

Nana still struggled as she tried to break free as a mix of fear and rage stirred within her. "Let go of me! I'll make you pay for what you did!"

"What I did?" the pink diclonius questioned. "And what exactly did I do to you to garner such animosity?" "_I mean I did go through the trouble of reattaching one of your legs you know_".

"I'll get you! I'll get you for what you did Lucy-san!" to which the young silpelit attempted to summon out her vectors.

". . . . What did you say?" Nana choked out slightly as her detainer used a little more force as she felt rigid while beginning to shake slightly. She then looked into her eyes only to see a mixture of fear and wariness. "Did you just say Lucy?" At hearing this both Kohta and Nyu immediately froze at the name.

"Wh . . . . What . . . .?" as she was then taken back from the unusual question.

"Answer me! She looked like me right! Was her name Lucy? Tell me!" while shaking her shoulders all the while desperate to get an answer.

However the young silpelit had nothing to say as she was both confused in addition to being shaken quite roughly making it difficult to come up with a comprehensible answer.

"Kaede-san! What are you doing? Please stop that!" as Mayu attempted to pry the older girl off her guest.

"Answer me! Was that her name?" A hand was then placed on her shoulder as it emitted a soothing aura.

"Kaede-chan, let's first hear what she has to say before things get out of hand" said Kohta.

The pink diclonius paused and then grunted in agreement as she let Nana go in order for her to explain the situation.

As soon as things had calmed down the group settled themselves around the dining table as Yuka prepared tea for everyone.

Nana took a sip as she marveled at the unique roasted taste. However it was short lived at the group was waiting anxiously for her to explain everything she knew. "_But papa told me not to tell anyone anything and live quietly from now on. But I have to know what this is all about and why is there two Lucy-sans_". She closed her eyes only to reopen them a moment later as she decided on her next course of action. "If I tell you what I know will you explain who you are to me?"

Kaede was tapping her finger impatiently on the table as she was growing anxious in wanting to know what was going on, but more importantly when Lucy came back from gods knows where she had been all those years. "Fine, just tell us what you know and we'll answer any questions you have later".

Kohta, Nyu, Yuka, and Mayu then focused as they listened intently for what the young silpelit had to say.

". . . . where to start". In a span of an hour, Nana explained what she could about everything she knew concerning diclonius, silpelits, the facility, and any other miscellaneous things she could think of. However most of it wasn't very useful seeing as the information was more or less intuitive when you really thought out the situation thus far. What interested the group most, but more for Kaede was the talk about the facility. It seemed kind of obvious that if such people like herself were abundant in the world then there would have to be an organization also present that would counter balance them in the event one of them went rogue. However the next part of what she learned was rather disturbing.

"They are being used as experiments!" said Yuka

Nana nodded sadly to this.

"But such a thing like this can't be legal. Why hasn't anyone put a stop to this madness?" said Kohta.

"I . . . . don't know".

"_But I shouldn't be too surprised_" thought Kaede. Simply if the general public didn't know about the existence of diclonius then whoever was pulling the strings on this must have been pretty influential indicating the presence of powerful political friends or potentially the government itself. But the sad part was humans like herself were being subjugated to these horrible atrocities all for the sake of science or fear. As she thought more about it, it left a nasty feeling in her stomach as these things were going on right under society's nose. But the problem was she was only one person against an enigma. The young silpelit wasn't sure where the facility was let alone any good information she could use to make sure her and her sister remained under their radar. If the unknown enemy were trained to specifically fight people like her then that would mean she would definitely have to be twice as careful from now on.

"This is all so much to take in" then said Mayu. "All these things can't possibly be real since this is just so . . . . so . . . . unbelievable".

Nana then directed her attention towards her supposed nemesis. "Who are you really? If you aren't Lucy-san then how are you connected to her? Why does she look like you? And why is there more than one of you?"

Kaede sighed, "_So many questions at once . . . ._" "As I told you before my name is Kaede and that is my sister Nyu" pointing to her. "I am in no way connected to that crazy girl as I had only met her twice in my life, and both of those times were me fighting for my life against her only barely surviving each time". She then took a breath to explain the last half of the questioning. "I have no idea why she looks like me, but genetics can be a funny thing sometimes. And why Nyu and I look alike is simply because we're identical twins".

"You fought against Lucy and lived?" then said Nana in surprise.

"As I said barely, I only got lucky those times I encountered her". She then clasped her hands together while permeating cold sweat. "Even after all these years . . . . there's something . . . . about her . . . . that scares me so intensely that I can't even describe".

"She has no business with us" said Kohta wrapping his arm around her in comfort. "There is nothing you have to be concerned about".

However Kaede continued to look down in a daze. "No, she'll definitely come for me eventually . . . . I just know it . . . . "

"But there's a few other things I have to . . . ." Nana stomach then grumbled which instantly embarrassed her. "Ehh . . . . ."

Everyone gave a soft laugh to her reaction.

"Well enough with this conversation. I'll go prepare dinner now" as Yuka got up to leave.

"I'll help" as Nyu followed along.

"But before you sit down to eat please go take a bath" said Kohta as he plugged his nose. "Because you seriously need it . . . ."

"Kohta-san!"

* * *

"_This is so unbelievable . . . . Even in my wildest imaginations, I never thought that such a life could be possible_".

In that short span of less than a day, Nana experienced some of the incredible things of what it meant to be alive. For like most dicloniuses at the facility, all they ever knew was the cold confines of their rooms as their only source of food was stale bread while each day they would get hosed down by cold water to keep the sterility of their test site.

After sampling of what it meant to have a 'normal' life it was then that Nana knew what it meant to be happy. If this were the case it was something she was willing to protect, not only her promise to her father but also for herself. Even though she still didn't understand the entire situation concerning the Hikaru sisters she knew deep down that they weren't evil and that she could get along with them.

But in order to do all this she needed to tie up a couple of loose ends.

* * *

"It would've helped if the circuits didn't break down". Bando then looked to his side to see an annoying site. "What do you want? And why the hell are you grinning like that?"

"What are you talking about?" smiled Nana. "I wasn't grinning" as she started to giggle a bit.

Bando sighed, "I want to know one thing. Despite you telling me you didn't have a place to live, you seemed to have found one. You're a liar, aren't cha?"

"Ah, really . . . ."

"So . . . . what about that horned woman. Did you find her?"

Nana paused at the question. In that moment she thought about the Hikaru sisters and their likeness to their common foe. "But _I haven't really seen her. So it wouldn't be lying . . . ._ ""I couldn't find her . . . ."

" . . . . Right".

Now as far as the young silpelit was concerned, keeping the brutish man running in circles was fine since no one was getting harmed in the process. So long as she kept him in the dark then her new life was now set to begin.

However a cold existence then wrapped itself around her as if evil itself was now in her presence. She turned towards the sky to see a helicopter fly in which was landing near her area.

"What's up? Is a chopper really that unusual?" Bando asked.

"It's coming . . . ."

"Huh? Wait, is it her?"

"No, it isn't her. This presence . . . . feels even stronger then Lucy-san".

But from simple deduction it was apparent that the new presence was there to either kill her, capture Lucy, or perhaps both. As things stood she didn't have to fight this unknown enemy to know she was completely out of her class on this one. If she faced her, it was almost a guarantee she would die. Of course she begged for Bando's help. But in his current situation, he was in no condition to be fighting anyone else but Lucy.

So tearfully she went off to face her demise, but not before saying her final good-byes.

"I won't return for now . . . ."

Kohta looked to her curiously. "Why?"

"I . . . . thought I could live the life of a normal girl with all of you. But it seemed like an illusion after all. Yet, it was utterly joyful".

"What's gotten into you? Are you going somewhere?"

" . . . . I'm not going anywhere. I will . . . . return very soon. So until then . . . . will you wait for me?"

Kohta gave the young silpelit a solemn look. "Isn't it obvious? Just come back in time for supper will you? For us, eating can wait until you return".

"Yep . . . . then see you soon!" to which Nana broke out into a run towards the evil presence.

"What got into Nana-chan?" asked Yuka after seeing the adolescent's unusual behavior.

". . . . I think we should follow her".

"Kaede-chan?" said Kohta.

"Something is telling me I should follow her because . . . . something . . . . important is suppose to happen soon". Kaede then looked to her sister. "I might need help on this. Nyu please come along with me".

"OK oneesan" Nyu chimed.

"Wait! If you're going then we should go as well!" Kohta then replied.

"No, you and Yuka just return home". She then turned to give them a reassuring smile. "Don't worry, we'll be OK. Just make sure to prepare a warm home for that brat to return too".

" . . . . I understand".

Kaede nodded, "alright, let's go then!"

* * *

Number thirty-five, code name Mariko. The strongest silpelit the facility has ever known. On this day she was allowed to come to the outside world for her special mission assigned personally by the director himself. Her mission was simply to retrieve Lucy and exterminate Nana if the situation presented itself as such.

Of course she had no interest in doing anything for anyone. But her life was literally in the palm of their hands. Before the time she even had self-awareness explosives were installed into her body to guarantee her obedience to the facility.

To say the least Mariko was not a child who understood much of anything of the world. Ever since she could remember, her first memory were of complete isolation in the darkness as tubes were injected into her body supplying her the bare minimum of what she needed to stay alive. So to say she was an angry child was an understatement as this was a torture she had to endure for five long years.

So even at knowing her eventual fate of returning to that cold prison she would at least enjoy what little time she had at basking under the warm radiant sun.

As her handler wheeled her across the coastline one of her targets then appeared before her. As Mariko smiled in gleeful joy to her she turned back to face her handler to ask a simple question. "So may I kill this one?"

* * *

Kurama, the adopted father of Nana and the biological father of Mariko. Although outwardly he would never show it, he loved both his daughters dearly. So that is why at this point in time the stoic man was on the first available helicopter along with a fully armed security personnel to finish the business he should've completed years ago.

After learning of the director's betrayed promise concerning his daughter, he thought out every possible plan and strategy he needed to bring this current situation to his favor. But all of them ended in the same outcome to which he would die with his flesh and blood.

Reflecting back at the very start of when he began his research at the facility, there were so many things that had happened that he wished never did. Ever since starting his work he has seen so many sad and irreversible mistakes. If he had another shot at life the one thing he would change would be he'd never get involved with the Kakuzawa family seeing as that is where all his troubles started.

But now it was his responsibility to bring this misery some closure. He knew if he allowed Mariko to live she would constantly be used time and time again by the director for whatever he saw fit of her, and that was something he couldn't allow. But if she had to die by his hand then he had no problem with joining her in the afterlife.

And now along the coastline at seeing his daughters fighting amongst themselves, he had his gun ready to do the unpleasant task ahead of him.

* * *

"Oneesan, what's wrong? Are you feeling sick?" asked Nyu.

Kaede shook her head as she was leaning against the wall to rejuvenate some of her stamina. "It's alright Nyu. I'll be fine". However that wasn't the case. Her head felt like splitting open at feeling the immense psychic presence that was facing off against Nana. But more than that, 'she' was also there. "_But why would she be there?_"

"Oneesan?"

"Don't worry, just keep moving and keep your mind closed. I'll get us there in no time".

* * *

After a short scuffle Kurama and Nana were forced to retreat as Mariko was simply too powerful to be stopped. During this time, Mariko tricked her handler into giving her the code to extend the timer just before killing him. But luckily Bando (even against his better judgment) showed up to help as he secured a route for the pair to escape. But that would be like running away as Kurama needed to face his responsibility for the monster he created. Even to Nana's objections he went anyways to go die with his daughter.

With the careful choreography of the security personnel along with the firepower of a battleship, everything was falling into place as the stoic man had planned.

"_Mariko . . . . I am so sorry. I never gave you anything_".

The child silpelit looked to her father in shock as he approached her without fear or worry of dying. "W . . . . Why? Why did you come here?"

Kurama then knelt down as he hugged his daughter giving her the first human parental contact she had ever received in five years since she was born. "So I really haven't made a mistake" as tears began to form on his face. "If I had killed you back then. I wouldn't have been able to embrace you right now". The child silpelit began to cry as her cold heart was slowly beginning to thaw at the sincere warmth of her father's love. "Mariko . . . . I love you from the bottom of my heart. Now and forever let's be together".

" . . . . really?" as she hesitantly but eventually hugged him back.

"Really . . . ."

"Me too!" smiled Mariko sincerely as she stepped back to look into her father's eyes.

As the missile from above came down to crash on them it was immediately splintered into a hundred pieces as it was nothing more than scrap all along the area.

Now Kurama was a man who liked to think of himself ready for any situation. But this was something he never thought possible. "Lucy!"

Mariko felt her body weaken at feeling how strong the 'queen of the diclonius' was.

"That must be her. That must be the Lucy-san they were talking about" said Nana as she had just reappeared back onto the scene.

Kurama had his hand ready on his gun. "Why did you save us Lucy?"

In response he looked to see his daughter get thrown back and bashed into a metal fence nearby. "I just wanted to see her die personally by my own hands".

Out of a fit of anger the stoic man drew his weapon and fired upon her. But obviously he should have known better that his weapon would have zero effect on her as she simply brushed the lead pellets aside as she continued her battle with Mariko.

"But why? Why is she here? Why does she want to kill Mariko?"

"Papa!"

Kurama turned to see Nana now at his side as she helped him up. "What is going on here? Why is she here?"

"I don't understand either. I didn't even feel her presence until she was right in front of me".

"Room monitor! Just what are you doing! Fool! The director's current plan is scheduled for today!" (Quick Note: this section will get rather confusing if you didn't read the manga. More information will be addressed in the author's notes).

"Today!" he replied as his eyes widened in shock. "It was planned to start five months later".

"It was in the schedule all this time. As long as the missile launch isn't stopped the human race will come to its end".

At hearing this he couldn't believe it was actually happening. Not too long ago he had just learned the real purpose behind his research as well as the Lebensborn project. If it was starting now then . . . . "We have to capture Lucy. If we have her we can use her to bargain against Kakuzawa to stall the launch. Without Lucy his plans fall to shambles".

"Papa! What's that?" as Nana pointed to the sky.

As Kurama looked to that direction, he saw as it was clearly too late as the missile had already been launched and had just now exploded in stratosphere. "It's . . . . too late". "_Twenty Million people . . . . now infected. . . . Humanity now has no future_".

He then raised his hand as his security personnel then armed themselves as they were ready to be commanded.

"What are you doing?" questioned Shirakawa.

"The only plan I have left" taking out his firearm. "I'll make sure he doesn't become a god. If Lucy dies here then I can give humanity some hope of survival as it would indefinitely hold up his plans of genocide". He then looked to see as Lucy and Mariko were fighting on an even level as neither of them was gaining any ground against each other. Even though Mariko was supposed to be superior in terms of vector power, Lucy still managed to keep things even between them. "But that'll change soon" while loading a bullet into the chamber. "Kill Lucy! Don't give her any time to rest! She must not be allowed to live!"

"Annoyances . . . ." for an insect was still an insect as far as that sadistic diclonius was concerned. Even though some of them provided cover fire for Mariko they still didn't seemed to learn their lesson as bullets were still ineffective to her then as they are still ineffective to her now. After killing a few small platoons of them they got the message as most them ran away in fear of their lives.

Kurama still stood his ground as he picked up a sub-machine gun to continue his fight against the queen herself. Alongside him, Nana shielded him if any bullets were to ricochet back to him or any stray vector was to swing randomly across their path. After a short few minutes the results seemed promising as Lucy now seemed to be on the verge of defeat.

However . . . .

"What's that sound?" asked Shirakawa curious of the beeping that was heard. "_Mariko-chan's bomb timer?_" She then looked wildly around the area. "_Why? Where's the remote?_" Her eyes then widened at seeing where the remote was. "_Why did it have to be right beside Lucy's foot?_""Room Monitor! Where is Isobe-kun?" (Mariko's handler).

"He's already dead . . . ."

The woman scientist then began to formulate a plan to retrieve the remote. Although it wasn't a smart plan it was their only chance as it was do or die for if Mariko died then they were all dead. "Lucy! Fight me!" as she picked up a piece of metal scrap.

At that moment of diversion Mariko made her dive for the cell phone only for it to be snatched up by Lucy.

"Oh, so you want this?" She then tossed it into the ocean. "If so, then catch it".

In desperation, the child diclonius dived for it just barely managing to grasp it with her vector. However her move put her in a critical spot as she was now in effective kill range of Lucy's psychic hands.

"Mariko-chan!"

But it was too late as both her legs were completely severed incapacitating her while removing her from the fight. She then stomped her foot on her head as she made her eat dirt all the while laughing sadistically at how the situation drastically turned to her favor.

"Mariko!" Kurama screamed as he dashed towards her.

"Stay back!" exclaimed Mariko.

Kurama stood steady as he watched in fear of his daughter's life about to be snuffed out. "Lucy . . . . I beg of you . . . . take my life instead. Just spare my daughter. It is all I ask of you . . . ."

"No way!" screamed Nana as she stood before her father. "Papa, escape! Hurry! Nana will fight Lucy-san!"

"Thank you" as she patted her on the head. "But it's OK now" as he proceeded to Lucy.

"No! I don't want that! I don't want papa dead! If papa dies then Nana will die too!"

"Nana . . . ."

Shirakawa feeling moved by the scene decided to perform an altruistic act even if it did cost her life this was something she knew for once in her life was the right thing to do. "There were bombs placed inside Mariko-chan's body. See the remote that Lucy has? As long as the cancellation code isn't entered Mariko-chan's body will blow up and die in one to two minutes".

Kurama couldn't believe what he was hearing. "Why? Was that an order from the director?"

"Yes, however it was I who suggested it" as she looked down guiltily. "I thought the child of a room monitor and some strange woman might as well die for all I cared".

"Shirakawa . . . ."

"Yet I've always felt guilty. But it's alright, I'll disarm the bomb. With this it will save Mariko-chan". She then stopped moving as she was now addressing Lucy. "I have a request that I didn't mention before. Please listen to it once".

"Shirakawa, what are you doing!" as Kurama attempted to stop her. However Nana stood in his way.

But to say the least she was scared s**tless. She had no plan and sure as hell no way out. Her chances of dying there and then exceeded a statistical threshold of a hundred percent. But if she was going to die that day, she was going to die doing something right. "Lucy, give me back the remote".

The queen diclonius stared blankly at her as she held out the phone. "If you want it, come and get it".

Shirakawa cringed at this, but surely she slowly approached the homicidal maniac. Simply there was no time left. Finally within reach she quickly grabbed the phone as she threw it to Kurama. "Room monitor! Catch! The cancelation code is 353574!" But before getting her head cut off she would have seen that her brave act was put in vain as the phone was destroyed before Kurama could reach it.

Upon seeing that action any remaining security personnel opened fire only to die a moment later as Lucy cleaved them in half like butter.

"Now it is your time to die" as Lucy proceeded towards him. Out of the instinct of fear Kurama couldn't help but back up slightly from the murderous animal. However Lucy could not proceed as a particular annoying child had latched onto her ankle.

"You won't kill father" said Mariko. "I won't let you . . . ."

Lucy couldn't help but smile and laugh at the empty threat that was presented. "Oh? And what do you think you can do about it?" as she used one of her vectors to force Mariko's head to the ground.

" . . . . The time father shared with me . . . . was so short yet so precious . . . . I detest my father who pushed me aside. I detest him yet . . . . " Mariko cried. "All that time I wanted to meet him. I wanted to spend time in the outside world with him. I wanted to learn more about everything from my father. But . . . . it's useless now . . . . "

Kurama stood there stunned as the situation had now completely sunk to the very dept of his soul. "Mariko . . . ."

"I love you with all my heart too father!" Mariko shouted from the very bottom of her existence as she made her final stand to protect him at all costs. "So live for my sake as well!" Her attention was then focused on Lucy. "Now follow me into hell!"

"Mariko!"

In one big explosion everything within five yards of the detonation was hit as Kurama and Nana were thrown back as Lucy and Mariko were caught in the ensuing blast.

" _. . . . That hurt_" thought the young silpelit as she got up slowly feeling rather disoriented. Her vector narrowly managed to dampen most of the inertia of the explosion. She then looked to her side to see Kurama completely unconscious from the shockwave. "Papa!"

"Clever girl for you to do a trick like that . . . ."

Nana looked towards the smoke as she couldn't believe anyone could survive a blast at point blank like that. But there she was, Lucy, still standing as if nothing had just occurred a moment ago. But as the smoke dissipated further, a huge mixture of relief and confusion began to overtake her. "Kaede-san!""_No way, there really are three of them_".

There in the crater Kaede had all her vectors deployed as she wrestled with Lucy to keep her at bay while Nyu kneeled behind her tending to the heavily injured Mariko.

"_But how? I clearly saw the bomb go off at that moment_" Nana thought.

"Even I didn't think you were capable of a trick like that" said Lucy. As she recalled the bomb suddenly materializing right in front of her as the child silpelit was pulled back a split second later. "To think you could destabilize the molecular integrity of the bomb for that split second phasing it through her just to throw it in my face. Who knew you had an interesting trick like that".

"Well it does pay to know a little physics on the side" grunted Kaede as she started to push back a little harder.

"Is that so?" grinned Lucy. Without warning her vectors disappeared as she stood confidently before the sisters.

Kaede however was wary of her change in action as she stood ready to attack the moment her doppelganger made her move. "What's wrong? Giving up already?" "_Ahh stupid! I shouldn't be antagonizing her!_"

"I told you I was going to deal with you later. But for today I'm here to kill that annoying little brat you have hiding over there".

"I won't let you" as the pink diclonius narrowed her focus ready to receive whatever she was going to throw at her.

Lucy chuckled slightly. "If not me, then you'll definitely kill her in my place then".

" . . . . What?" she responded taken back by the unusual statement. "Why would I do such a thing?"

"You felt it too didn't you? This child is a threat to us. If you allow her to live she will undoubtedly come back to kill not only me, but you and your sister as well. So why not do things my way and just kill her. No one has to know and your dear Kohta would understand if you explained it to him".

"Shut up!" Kaede fumed. "He has nothing to do with this!"

Lucy chuckled once again. "I'll leave for now just to see what interesting choice you're going to make. But one way or another you will have to do something about her as she is simply more dangerous than me when it comes to killing people" and with that the queen turned and left leaving whatever living people that were left in the area.

Kaede squeezed her fist tightly as she looked down to the bloody form of the child in her sister's arms. In the moment her consciousness made contact with her, she felt the uncontrollable rage and pain that dwelled within her soul that threatened to tear apart anything and anyone that dared approach her. For what Lucy said was right that this child was simply too dangerous and too powerful to be allowed to live.

"Kaede-san! Are you OK? How is Mariko-chan?" asked Nana.

The pink diclonius looked to her with a soft smile as she patted her on the head. "Don't worry, everything will be fine" because also within that void of her soul she also felt the light that was created when her father finally acknowledged her existence and promised that they would be together from now on. That light was something she was willing to bet her life on. "_The love of a parent and child huh . . . ._" She then retrieved Mariko's legs as she and Nyu began to leave. "We spotted a few helicopters coming towards us. When you get everything straightened out here come back to Maple Inn. We'll leave a signal so that you can find your way home".

"But Kaede-san! How did you know how to find us? Let alone what the situation was at the very moment?"

She then pointed to her head as she grinned to her. "When you're screaming your head off mentally at full blast, it's kind of hard not to hear everything that you're saying".

Nana chuckled slightly at the comment.

"Do hurry up, we are going to have company soon" and with that they left.

The young silpelit then went to her father as she shook him awake. "Papa, please wake up now. You have to wake up now".

Soon Kurama came too, but his eyes bulged as he quickly got up to scan the area. "Where's Lucy? What happened to Mariko?" His memory then came back to him as he cupped his face in anguish. "Oh god . . . . Mariko . . . ."

"Papa, you have to come with me right now because . . . ."

"Nana, you have to leave now. More people are coming and if they discover you, you will die for certain. So go now while there is still time".

"But papa you have to come with me because . . . ."

"Go now, I'll take care of the clean-up mess here".

"Mariko-chan is still alive!"

"What did you say?" Instantly that got the stoic man's attention as he lightly grabbed Nana by the shoulder. "What are you talking about? That can't be true! She was . . . . they were . . . ."

"Don't worry papa, Mariko-chan is alive and well".

"Where? Where is she then?"

Nana looked to the side as she didn't quite think this part through. "She is . . . . with some of the people I live with now".

"People you live with?"

"There is no time to talk now papa. We have to go now!"

* * *

"_How am I going to explain this?_" At this time both Nana and Kurama were walking within the neighborhood area as they were nearing Maple Inn. Just as Kaede had said, she left a signal for her to follow to find her way home. "_But how do I explain to papa that Kaede-san and Nyu-san look exactly like Lucy-san . . . ._"

"_Don't worry, we'll help explain it to him as well_".

"_Kaede-san?_"

"_It'll be alright, we're in this together remember_".

"_Nyu-san!_"

Nana nodded as she took her father's hand. "This way papa! The inn is right over there!"

And soon enough they arrived in front of the structure as they both were now standing in front of the doorway.

"Is this where Mariko is?" Kurama asked.

"Yeah, she is inside resting now".

The stoic man's eyes bulged as Lucy walked out from the shadow of the roof followed by another Lucy right behind her. "What the hell is the meaning of this?" as he drew his gun pointing it right at them.

"Papa stop! You don't understand!"

"Get out of the way Nana! I'm going to end it here and now!" said Kurama angrily as he was about to pull the trigger.

Kaede sighed at his reaction. "If you don't mind sir it is late in the evening and people do have to get up early tomorrow. So I would mind if you didn't fire your gun in the neighborhood waking up the neighbors seeing as they can get really grouchy when it happens".

"What kind of joke is that? What have you done to Mariko? Answer me Lucy!"

"Papa! Please stop this, you don't understand what is going on yet . . . ." However a soft grasp on her shoulder pushed her aside as she looked up to see the elder girl approach her father. "Kaede-san?"

"Don't worry, I'll handle this in a way he can understand". She then turned towards Kurama as she walked right up to him.

He then stepped back slightly at her advance but still kept his weapon at point.

"You know what I'm capable of and you know what I can do. So do you honestly think a toy like that can actually hurt me?" said Kaede as she glared at him.

Kurama cringed as that was a true fact, but he still stood his ground.

"But I will tell you now and this will hopefully be the only time I have to say it" she said giving a brief pause. "I am not Lucy. My name is Kaede Hikaru and this is my sister Nyu Hikaru. We are not your enemy".

Deciding to humor her, " . . . . And what proof do you have that you are not Lucy?"

In that instant his gun crumbled in his hand as it was nothing more than debris now. "Because if I were Lucy that would have been your head right about now . . . ."

Kurama looked to his hand before looking back to Kaede. He then stared intently into her eyes to search for any lie that laid within them. But after a minute he closed his eyes taking a deep breath before looking back to her. "I'll believe you . . . . for now. Now take me to my daughter".

She nodded as she guided him in towards one of the vacant rooms where Kohta, Yuka, and Mayu were watching over Mariko's now resting and peaceful form. Kurama then knelt down as he scanned his daughter. For the second time that day he couldn't help but cry again in happiness as his daughter was truly alive and well. But now . . . . the question was . . . . what to do with her.

"For now we must face a dilemma" said Kaede as she took a seat across from Kurama. "Your daughter is simply too unstable to live a peaceful life as it is. In the moment I took a glimpse in her mind I saw all her memories and how unbalanced her soul is. If I were to leave her be then one day I might be forced to kill her myself".

Kurama flinched at her statement.

"However I do have a possible solution to this from the way Nana explained it to me". She paused before speaking again. "If it's true that diclonius power is controlled by the pineal gland in the brain then I can use my vector to disable that portion of her mind making her a relatively normal human being. Unfortunately I do not know what will happen after this procedure. I do not wish to do this operation seeing as I do not know what will happen afterward. But aside from that you are her father and I will let you decide her fate. But let me remind you that if I were to leave her be then someday she might lose control and kill many people. But if I were to operate then there is a chance she may have a second chance at life".

"But isn't it dangerous for you to operate like that without understanding the full consequences of the procedure" asked Kohta worriedly.

"I wouldn't even think of doing this if the chances of killing her were extremely high. Besides I'm not really cutting anything. All I'm doing is isolating a huge section of her pineal gland from the rest of the brain keeping her from using her vectors. But whether or not if her telepathy will be intact is something I have no idea about. Do not worry as no real harm will come to her".

"Do it . . . ."

The group looked to the elder man.

"You have my permission to perform this procedure . . . ."

"Are you sure? Because once it's done we have no idea what will happen".

Kurama nodded his head. The logical side of him knew he couldn't take the chance that his daughter would go rogue one day and go on a killing spree. But his emotional side didn't want to take the chance of her getting harmed in the process. In the past it has been attempted by the facility to surgically remove that portion of their brain. But from all accounts they all ended in failure as they would not survive or live long enough to see if the operation was successful. Although he didn't really trust this 'Kaede' person . . . . she was her only shot seeing as it was either back to the facility or death. Kurama gave another nod of approval.

"This will take a few minutes , but it will be very quick and painless""_I hope_". Kaede then sent two of her vectors in as she wrapped her psychic hands around the gland. Slowly bit by bit she produced a low wave frequency vibration around the section until all electrical signals were completely disabled around it. She then gave a deep exhale as she relaxed back into her seat. "There, I'm done".

"How is she?" asked Kurama.

"Well . . . . we are about to see in a moment as she is going to regain consciousness soon".

Right on cue Mariko opened her eyes wearily as she slowly sat up. She then looked around briefly before her sight focused onto Kurama. As if attacking, she glomped the older man embracing him in a hug. "Myu!"

"Myu?" said the group curiously.

"Myu myu myu".

Everyone gave a choked laugh to the situation. "I . . . . really didn't expect this to happen" said Kaede.

"What's wrong with her oneesan?" said Nyu.

"And why does she keep saying Myu?" then said Yuka.

"Did you give her brain damage or something" said Mayu worriedly.

"I'm not a brain surgeon!" Kaede exclaimed. "How am I suppose to know what happened! Besides a diclonius brain isn't like a normal human one so . . . ." as she gave a shrug.

Kohta placed his hand to his chin as he examined the situation. "Maybe it's directly integrated to her consciousness". Everyone looked to him to further explain. "Well I hypothesize that her pineal gland is directly hardwired into the rest of her brain. When Kaede-chan disabled it, it required her mind to rewire itself to reestablish a sense of equilibrium amongst its functions. So in this sense, if I were to make an analogy to a computer her brain has now completely rebooted back to factory setting as she has no memories or back-up files to speak of. But then the other hypothesis is that . . . . well . . . ."

"What is it?"

"That Kaede-chan messed up and gave her brain damage . . . ."

Everyone sweat dropped at this. "I . . . . I think Kohta-kun's first hypothesis was better" to which everyone agreed upon even Kurama from his deductions.

The stoic man then gave one of his rare smiles as he now returned his daughter's affections. "Thank god . . . ."

"So you're not angry that she is like this?"

Kurama shook his head. "It is for the better that she does not remember what happened during her time in the facility. Now she has a chance to start her life over as a normal girl".

"Father" chirped Mariko.

He petted her head. "But the way things are now I still have many things to do before I have the chance to be a real father to her". Kurama then looked to Nana. "Please take care of your little sister while I'm away".

"Yes papa!"

He then looked to the two human adults. "I apologize for the trouble. But may I ask you to watch over my daughters as if they were your own family".

"Not a problem for us" smiled Yuka.

"Yeah, no problem on our end" said Kohta.

Kurama then turned to face the Hikaru sisters. "I still don't trust you . . . . but you do have my thanks for what you've done for my daughters. So I would like to ask that you continue on in being their protector".

"Of course!" cheered Nyu.

Kaede crossed her arms as she gave a nod.

"Well . . . . I better get going now. People will get suspicious if I'm gone for too long" as he got up to leave much to Mariko's protest.

"But if this truly is a new chapter in your daughter's life then shouldn't you start this off with spending more time with her" smiled Kohta. "Perhaps . . . . with an evening meal?"

"I . . . . really shouldn't . . . . I should be getting back as soon as possible as there are many things that must be done . . . ."

"Nonsense!" then said Kaede. "If your daughters really mean that much to you then you're going to sit your a**at that dining table and have dinner with us!"

Kurama choked at the reaction of the horned girl. Seeing a Lucy look alike act like that still made him feel a bit awkward in a . . . . strange way (for a lack of better words) as he had always known Lucy for none other than a psychotic killer. He then looked down to Mariko's puppy dog eyes as they were pleading to him.

"Please papa, stay and have dinner with us" said Nana.

The stoic man sighed as he conceded to their demands as he soon followed the group inside.

"But before you sit down Kurama-san" said Mayu as she shied away. "You really need a bath because you kind of smell".

". . . .huh?"

To be continued . . . .

* * *

Author's Notes: This chapter was rather difficult to write as there were simply so many things going on at the same time from so many perspectives. So I do apologize if it seemed rather roughly written. But for some key notes Kakuzawa did indeed launch a rocket above Japan infecting twenty million individuals with the diclonius virus in the manga. Furthermore Mariko did have a split personality like Kaede did with Nyu, but in her case it was called Myu also in the manga.

But for further detail everything regarding this chapter can be found between 55 to 70 in the manga. On that note for everyone who is reading this, this story will soon come to an end. In exchange of fewer chapters it will be longer stories. So I thank you all for those who stuck with me thus far.

**Snowy-Sonya** – As do I, for I do enjoy when karma bites back against evil doers. But once again thank you for your kind patronage and do come by again in the next update.

**CodelyokoFan23** – Thank you for the compliment, and I do hope you stick around for the next update.

**TURP** – If that is how you feel then . . . .

**Zaraenis** – Thank you for your compliment, but as mentioned above this story will come to an end soon. I just hope I do not disappoint.

So I thank you all for reading my fic and I further extend my gratitude if you can review it as well.


	27. Revelation

Chapter 27: Revelation

Synopsis: To find ones revelation is to find the highest or possibly most divine truth there is to things. But is the truth really something worth knowing most of the time?

Reminder: I do not own Elfen Lied or any characters associated with it

"talking"

_thoughts_

_

* * *

_

"Nana-neechan, Nana-neechan, that's not how you multiply them together" Mariko chuckled as she pointed out Nana's faults.

"Ahh! I don't get this at all!" the young silpelit then fumed as she threw the paper into the air.

"No need to get frustrated" Mayu awkwardly smiled. "You just need more practice is all?"

Nana sobbed in a comical fashion at how stupid this was all making her look.

"_Those kids . . . ._" thought Kaede as she watched them from the room over.

A little over six months had passed since Mariko had come to live with them as a member of their little unique family. Of course at first it was quite unnerving for the first few weeks since she didn't know if she completely neutralized her vector power or her original personality. But after a full month had passed the child silpelit was fitting in quite nicely with their little group. To a certain degree she was more or less turning out to be the group's cute little mascot.

The pink diclonius then felt a tug at her shirt as she looked down to the child.

"Nee, nee, Kaede-neechan, Do you know when father is coming back?"

Nana's ears perked up at this question.

Kaede smiled as she petted Mariko on the head. "Sorry, but I'm not sure when he's going to visit again" and for a good reason too. To make these arrangements possible, Kurama had reported back to the facility that his daughter had indeed perish in her fight against Lucy thus giving her a true second start at life. She could live peacefully at Maple Inn and experience what it meant to be a normal girl. Of course the stiff didn't trust Mariko's care in the hands of a bunch of strangers, especially to someone who looked exactly like his greatest enemy. But after half a year of taking care of his kid she figured she earned some credit points for that.

Now concerning the stiff himself, he did come to visit the inn once in a while. But only in random intervals of time as he didn't want to arouse any suspicion to what he does on his off times.

"They seem to be coming along nicely" said Kohta.

"Yeah" smiled Kaede.

In part of trying to develop some normalcy, herself along with her friends attempted to convince Kurama in allowing Mariko to attend normal school. However being the calculating and precise man he was, he didn't want to take any chances seeing as Kamakura was the grand central of diclonius hunts to which it was best that she was kept out of sight as much as possible.

But seeing as she wasn't the type to lose an argument she along with her friends managed to convince the stoic man to allow Mariko to attend normal school on a trial basis with her horns hidden of course. Much to Kurama's surprise, Mariko didn't have too much trouble fitting in with her school mates as she made many friends quite quickly.

This is where things got interesting for her. In suggesting that Nana also attend school it turned out the young silpelit was actually seven years old much to the disbelief of her group, but nonetheless true. According to Kurama, the diclonius virus which was being passed around caused the birth of silpelits who in exchange for maturity lost their ability to reproduce. Their purpose were like worker bee's as they would continue passing the virus along until there were no humans left leaving only the queen diclonius left to repopulate the world with her own offspring. Of course this idea was rather unnerving but ultimately ridiculous seeing as neither she nor Nyu had any intention of infecting people or being queen of anything. But that didn't say the same for Lucy as no one knew what she was up too.

However, more unnerving news came as Kurama also revealed what the Lebensborn project was. Frankly it was a crazy eugenic Nazi idea where director Kakuzawa was planning to wipe out the human race in order to create a more superior one from the ashes. That rocket that exploded in the Earth's stratosphere just six months ago contained a large quantity of the diclonius virus which instantly disseminated all over the Earth infecting a good chunk of the human race which would essentially speed up humanities extinction. Due to this, Kurama decided to continue working in the facility as he along with a few trusted scientists would work on a vaccine in secret.

"_But I can understand his fear . . . ._" as Kaede had clear memories of her and Nyu's early childhood to which 'normal' people would pick on them simply because of their horns. "_If their powers were to develop as early as mine did . . . . then I don't even want to think of the devastation that could occur . . . ._" She too had been tempted at times to use her 'hands' to hurt people. But she understood the stakes that if this problem was allowed to grow then it could very well turn into a war on a scale that could result in a never ending cycle of blood with no clear victory in the end. However her feelings on this matter were mixed as this was an issue way too complicated for her to discern on her own.

"I . . . . I'm very sorry for always intruding like this . . . ." Nozomi stuttered.

"No it's alright" Yuka smiled as she patted the teen girl on the back. "You're always welcomed here".

In the half year that had passed, Nozomi had practically come to live in Maple Inn due to some friction that was occurring between her and her father concerning her career choice in music. During her stay, Nyu would constantly practice with her sharpening their skills as they would always create an ethereal atmosphere every time they practiced. Of course the reason to why Nozomi's father garnered great animosity to her career choice would come to be known later. But to put it simply, he was being cruel in order to be kind.

"Oneesan, is that person you're waiting for coming over today?" asked Nyu cheerfully.

"Yeah" smiled Kaede. "It's been quite a while since I've seen her". Just a few minutes later a short haired brunette knocked as she was immediately greeted by the Hikaru sisters. The moment the door was opened Kaede found herself in a vice grip hug as her friend was quite happy to see her. She then gave a soft chuckle, "It's nice to see you again Aiko".

"It's good to see you too Kaede-chan!" said Aiko almost in a shout.

After managing to get some relative peace and seeing no danger in their current environment, she saw no reason to why she couldn't invite Aiko over. Since that time four years ago they had been keeping in contact with each other through the internet as they would talk regularly and update each other on how their lives have been going.

Up to the latest news, Aiko has been living quite happily with her mother as they have been making up for lost time in the four years they've been together. Even more fantastic then that, under her mother's recommendation she also managed to get into a prestigious art school in Europe where she is being taught by some of the finest masters there are.

"I'm surprised you were able to make it. I figured you would've been to wrapped up in your current work" said Kaede.

"Not really, I'm sort of on a special project assigned by my professor. But that is also part of the reason why I am here" said Aiko.

" . . . . Ehh?"

"Nevermind, I'll tell you more about it later". She then looked over to examine Nyu as a sheepish smile then began to spread on her face. "So you must be Kaede-chan adorable twin sister".

"Yes!" Nyu chirped giving her signature smile.

"So cute!" as Aiko couldn't resist but give the ditzy girl a hug. She then proceeded further into the room as she looked left to right pointing everyone out. "Nana-chan, Mayu-chan, Mariko-chan, Yuka-chan, Nozomi-chan". Her eyes then fell on Kohta to which a strange giggle started to become apparent. She then nudged Kaede on the side as she whispered into her ear. "So that's Kohta-kun huh? He's as handsome as you said he was. But very kinky that you had a threesome with him and your sister".

"Aiko!" Kaede blushed.

"Well anyways hello everyone it's nice to finally meet you all in person. It feels like I've already met you all the way Kaede-chan talks about all of you".

Everyone then got up as they each gave their guest an individual greeting.

"Would you like some tea Aiko-chan?" asked Yuka as she was about to go prepare some for the group.

"Yes! Thank you!" she chimed. Aiko then turned to face Kaede, "anyways there was also another reason to why I'm here which concerns you and your sister in relation to my project. Will you come and hear me out?"

"I don't see why not" as both sisters followed her into another room.

As time passed everyone went about their business until a loud screeching "what?" was heard emanating from another room. Following that Kaede soon exited as she proceeded to walk outside apparently deep crimson in embarrassment followed by Nyu as she attempted to talk her into something. Aiko soon walked out as she took a seat with the rest of the group.

"What was that about?" asked Kohta.

"Art that you wouldn't understand" smiled Aiko.

* * *

Elsewhere during these six months, director Kakuzawa has been quite busy as well. In the cavern at the very bottom of the facility in the lake was his daughter who he genetically mutated in order to give her the ability to predict the future. However as a cost to this power, the child became incredibly disfigured as she grew to a monstrous size to which only the lake's water could support under the force of gravity.

As far as his plans were concerned everything was falling right into place as the diclonius virus was spreading quite quickly. But the only thing left that he had to do was obtain the key to making himself a god which would be the queen herself.

"I'm assigning this mission to you. But you are to bring her back alive and unharmed do you understand?" said Kakuzawa as he was referring to his nephew who was dressed in black while sporting sunglasses and a black hat.

"Tsk, don't worry. I'll get the job done" replied the unknown man. He then proceeded back up to the complex as he gathered all the things he would need to complete his mission's objective.

"I think number twenty-eight is competent enough. She has an obedient personality, and her vectors are underdeveloped" said the technician as he went over the chart. The two men looked down from their observatory at the teen looking silpelit strapped to the wall.

" . . . . I see. You fit my liking" said the unknown man.

The technician looked to him in confusion. "Huh?"

"Well before the operation is done, anyways . . . ." as he loaded his crossbow. "Shall we have a little fun?"

* * *

The next day came as everyone went about their routine. Aiko had other things to look too as she was out in the downtown area. Nozomi had classes back at her high school. As for Kaede and the rest, they still had classes to attend back at their university. So this then just left Mayu, Nana, and Mariko at home as they didn't have anything else to do for the day.

"Oh" Nana whined. "I'll never get this algebra stuff. Nana wished this were a lot easier!"

Mariko then patted her on the head as a form of comfort. "You'll understand it soon Nana-neechan".

"Don't worry Nana-san, you'll get it eventually" smiled Mayu as she brought a tray of tea and snacks.

"You guys . . . . thanks for being my support" She then grabbed the brunette in a tight embrace. "I'm very envious, you're always so calm and collected Mayu-san".

"Ehh . . . . Not really . . . ."

"Mayu . . . . you know I . . . . I'm happy that I met Mayu and everyone here. Until now . . . . things were always harsh for me . . . ."

"I know how you feel" recalling her previous life. "Until I met everyone at Maple Inn I was alone . . . . with only Wanta by my side".

" . . . . really . . . ."

Mariko soon joined in on the group hug even though she couldn't really understand the meaning behind it. The two adolescents chuckled as they began to tickle the child diclonius. Things now definitely started to look a lot better for everyone.

"Ahh!" Nana reopened her eyes as she was now in a completely different atmosphere. As she looked around it had suddenly become darker as it appeared she was sitting in empty space. "_What is this? Mayu-san? Mariko-chan? Are you there?_" After a quick examination it became apparent that she was in the metaphysical world of her consciousness or more specifically her mind. As she looked around she didn't understand how she could be there as she didn't consciously choose it.

"_It hurts . . . . It hurts so much . . . . _"

Cold fear began to race up her spine as she slowly turned around to see who was talking.

"_Run . . . . Now . . . ._"

"_Who is it? Where are you?_" Nana thought out.

"_It hurts . . . ._"

As Nana looked upon the figure, she could only feel horrified at what appeared before her. Slowly crawling towards her was what remained of half a human as its body was mutilated beyond the state of recognition as it bleed and melted before her eyes.

"_Run . . . . Run . . . ._"

"_What's wrong? Are you wounded?_"

"_It hurts . . . . hurts . . . . !_"

"Nana-san!"

"Nana-neechan!"

The young silpelit soon found herself back in the physical world as she had been crying uncontrollably the entire time.

* * *

"Kaede-chan? Nyu-chan? What's wrong? Why are you crying?" asked Kohta.

Nyu at this time had both her hands over her eyes as she was trying to rub them dry. "I don't know why! I just can't stop crying!"

Kaede swiped her finger across her cheek to see that there was indeed the presence of tears. " _. . . . But why?_" However a heart wrenching feeling began to overtake her. Not able to deny curiosity, she activated her telepathy to understand this feeling. But the moment she did, she wished she hadn't as she soon collapsed to her knees all the while now completely unable to stop the tears.

"Kaede-chan!"

"I have to go back . . . ." she coughed out. "I have to go back to the inn!" Kaede then got up as she started to run.

"Wait! Oneesan!" as Nyu followed which were soon accompanied by both Kohta and Yuka.

* * *

"What's the matter? You went silent all of the sudden" said Mayu as she looked to the young silpelit with concern.

"_What . . . . was that . . . . ?_" thought Nana as she tried to collect herself from the intensity of that telepathic message.

"Hmm? It seems Kohta-san and the others are back now" as Mayu then got up to open the door.

"_Run . . . . now . . . ._"

Nana's eyes then snapped open as the realization came to her what the message was trying to say. "Mayu don't! It's not them!"

However it was too late as the dark figured man had now entered the inn. "Umm . . . . and who might you be?"

The dark figure scanned the area as he immediately spotted two dicloniuses in the room. "You . . . . You're not Lucy. Darn this blunder. This isn't funny".

"Wha . . . . What kind of business do you have here?" Mayu then stuttered feeling intimidated by the man's presence.

But without warning or cause the unknown man kicked her in the stomach knocking her several feet away.

"Mayu!" Nana exclaimed as she made her way to her. "Hey you! What do you think you're doing?" her eyes then bulged as she felt that presence again.

"Spare me your bulls**t. What would I do if I'm unable to find Lucy huh?"

"What . . . . what's inside your backpack?" The air then began to feel heavier as she prayed it was not what she thought it was. "It can't be . . . ."

The unknown man grunted as he slammed his pack down. "What? Am I too close or something? Well since we've gone this far, I'll have a farewell introduction while you're still alive". He then opened his pack revealing a site so horrible that no human should ever have to see this.

"Why . . . . So cruel . . . ." as the girls including Mariko cried at the site. There in the backpack was half a girl missing all of her internal organs as the only thing keeping her alive was the tubes hooked up to her body. As she looked back at them it was clear her eyes were pleading to them to end her life.

"I'm using her as radar to find Lucy. Because you diclonii seem to know each other's whereabouts. Too bulky too handle though. So she's been amputated from the chest down. This container is a life support system. But whatever you call it, without any internal organs she won't last for three days. There's no point in letting myself get detected, so I keep her in a near death-state. And to disable her from using her vectors there is this apparatus put into her spinal cord that makes her feel pain constantly. Due to the pain she feels her vectors are rendered useless. Even as we speak, she surely feels excruciating pain. But alas as she doesn't have a diaphragm she can't speak. I'd actually like to act cool for a bit longer but . . . ." The evil man started to feel his blood boil as he then kicked the pack over. "She's so f**cking useless! I told you to look for Lucy and you find these good for nothing silpelits!" He then repeatedly kicked the device until blood began to seep out of it. "Opps, I inadvertedly killed her. Ahh right, she was dying anyways. She was already dying from the start, I forgot. But what the hell, while she still had her lower half I took my time and played rough with her. She must be glad she is dieing fast too".

But long before his winded explanation, his fate had already been decided. "_I won't ever forgive you for this!_" Nana then stood up as bloodlust began to radiate off her.

However the unknown man simply smirked as he drew out his crossbow weapon launching out his spiked ball.

"_It's heavy!_" as Nana tried to repel it. Soon discovered her vectors were unable to slow it down. Without time to dodge it, it struck right onto her side as the metal barbs dug right into her skin. "Ahh!" She then attempted to pull them out only to be in more pain as the spikes were leeching off her.

"These balls are two kilograms each. When fired in a five meter range, it's unstoppable by an average diclonius. Of course you won't get mortally wounded by just getting hit by one. However . . . ."

The second effect then kicked in as Nana then dropped to the floor rolling in pain as she screamed out louder.

"That would be the neurotoxin ooze spilling out of the ball. This pain must be unthinkable for this world ehh? Well in this condition a diclonius should be incapacitated enough to be captured".

"Nana-san/Neechan" as both Mayu and Mariko were by her side.

The unknown man then took notice of his extra prey. "Well would you look at this, young lass to my liking. Just in time since I got bored with playing with disclonii. Let's try playing with a human girl this time".

Mayu looked up in shock as the man started to advance. He was then halted as Mariko stood between him and his prize.

"Leave neechan and Mayu-neechan alone!" Although she stood her ground bravely, she was too scared to do anything else as it was visible to see her entire frame was shaking.

The evil man grinned to which he then kicked the child aside. "Are you a human or a disclonii? Either which I'll take care of you later". He then turned back to Mayu as a sick grin appeared on his face. "Get undressed now! Make any excuses and you're going to be in for a lot of pain".

Mayu then started to hyperventilate as memories of her past began to come back. Tears began to pour out uncontrollably as she ducked her head in the fetal position. "Eek! Father no more! Please no more!"

The unknown man stepped back at the sudden outburst. "What is up with this girl? All of the sudden . . . . "

"_How? How did this all happen?_" thought Nana as she couldn't understand how this event transpired. "_Nana hid her presence exactly as Kaede-san had taught her_". But that didn't matter as she needed to do something about the situation now. "Don't lay a hand . . . . on Mayu . . . ." she breathed out while managing to grab one of her assailants legs.

The evil man looked down with annoyance etched on his face, "Oh how noble!" sarcastically. "To help a companion by sacrificing your own body . . . ." He then took aim with his weapon, "but I suddenly feel like slicing you up". He then shot a second spike ball into her other side as all Nana could do was wither as the pain had completely paralyzed her. A sadistic smile then appeared on his face as he knelt down pressing his weapon against the ball. "Hurt doesn't it? I wonder how long you can endure this before you decide to piss yourself in agony".

"Neechan . . . ." Mariko whimpered. "Please . . . . stop hurting neechan . . . . " But as the situation proved, words were no longer useful, force was the only answer for a resolution to occur.

"And where do you think you're going?" seeing as Mayu was attempting to make her way to a phone. "No, no, no, we can't have anyone ruining our fun yet . . . ."

"That will be as far as you go . . . . "

"What . . . .!"

The unknown man was thrown back with extreme force resulting in him being indented into the wall as Mariko now stood before him.

"_What the hell is going on now?_" the man then examined the child silpelit more closely. "_She almost seems like a completely different person from a few moments ago_".

Mariko glared at him as she had her vectors out in a defensive position around herself and her fallen sister. "You have come to our home unwelcomed, and now I am going to make you leave" she then stated as venomously as she could.

Nana titled her head up as a familiar presence caught her attention. "_Mariko-chan . . . . when did you get your powers back . . . . ?_"

The child silpelit slanted her eyes slightly as she kept her focus on their attacker. "_Don't worry about the particulars . . . . I'll keep the promise we made to father about never killing again . . . ._ " "Mayu-neesan, quickly go get help. I'll hold him off here!" In her previous state, she still had memories of the attacker's weapon. At seeing how it easily tore right through Nana's vector defenses, it was clearly something a normal diclonius couldn't handle. However she wasn't a normal diclonious, and he was a man who was clearly way in over his head. But on the off chance she couldn't stop him, than she would at least have some reassurance.

Mayu nodded her head slightly as she started to pick herself up to go to the phone.

Meanwhile the unknown man took aim as he launched another one of his spike ball rounds. "You saw what it did to your friend! Do you honestly think you can stop it?" But he soon became dumbstruck as the metal ball stopped several inches away from her.

"At the facility . . . . I was known to be the strongest of the all the silpelit's. Even to the extent of being far stronger then the queen herself". She then flicked the ball back at him to which he narrowly managed to dodge. "So don't take me lightly as I will make you pay for what you've done!"

"_Why in the hell is she crying for?_ "As he saw Mariko drenched in tears. "_How can she be the strongest silpelit? Number thirty-five should have died in her fight against Lucy!_" An image of Kurama then flashed into his mind. "_Of course he was this brat's father, but what the hell is she doing here?_"However that wasn't the most important matter to him now as the only thing he was concerned about was surviving. He slowly picked himself up as he started to reach for another round. "Oye" while waving his hand "this was all a big misunderstanding".

"Misunderstanding?" Mariko choked out feeling agitated as his dumba** excuse. "What you've done here today was all a misunderstanding!" she then picked up a shard of broken wood nearby launching it with enough kinetic force to pierce the wall behind him to which he dodged narrowly again. "And do you call everything else you've done in your life a misunderstanding as well!" as she threw another bullet speed object at him.

"_What the hell is she going on about?_"

"If I ever had to break a promise with father then I will have no regret in taking your life so long as it's the most agonizing most painful thing you ever feel before you die!"

"It's now or never!" He then shot his weapon once more at his target only for it to be stopped once again.

"I told you, that won't work on me".

The man then loaded another as he was starting to get desperate. But looking to his side, he formulated a plan as he noticed one of his spike balls lodged in the wall right next to him. So taking aim he fired once more but at his new target.

"Neesan!" and knowing how much power she had to use to catch one of those things, she moved a great deal of her vectors in front of Nana to avoid a fatal third shot. However that was what the evil man was counting on as he then ripped the ball out from the wall making a mad dash towards his opponent as he rammed the piece right into her shoulder. "Ahh!" to which she soon fell to the floor not believing that such a pain as this was even possible.

The unknown man then kicked Mariko aside, but not before spitting on her. "I'll come back to deal with you later. But I got more pressing matters to deal with" as he licked his lips disgustingly.

Mariko then crawled her way to her sister as she held her hand hoping that this wasn't going to be the end for them.

"So that's where you are!" Mayu turned around as the evil man ripped the phone cord out followed by slapping her hard across the face. "I've had enough of your foreplay as I'm going to have my fun time with you now". He then proceeded to tear the young brunette's blouse open. But he was soon forced to stop as a large hard fist met his face. The unknown man then looked up to see a large thuggish looking individual with brown hair and sunglasses clearly looking at him with contempt and disgust.

"Bando-san!" called Mayu ecstatically.

"Chill brat, I'm just here to fulfill my promise". He then looked back to the dark figured man while cracking his knuckles. "So do you care to explain what the hell you were going to do?"

The man rubbed his jaw as he slowly picked himself up, and repeating the routine he did a minute ago. "This was all just a misunderstanding".

"Misunderstanding?" as Bando was feeling just as irked as Mariko was. "I'm pretty sure I saw a grown man attacking a little girl you damn pedo" as he responded with a strong punch slightly deforming the unknown man's face. "The mess you left behind with those two horned brats" picking him up by the coat jacket as he punched him down again breaking his nose. "You're also going to pay for that!"

The unknown man then attempted to crawl away as he looked around desperately for anything to protect himself with.

"What wrong? Is that all your strength amounts too? Are you only capable of fighting girls?" Bando then drew out his gun as he took aim. "Well it's about time I finish this up anyways".

"Bando-san, don't do it!" as Mayu clung to his back to stop him.

"Why the hell for?"

"No one has the right to take the life of another person!"

"What kind of messed up logic is that!" In seeing that opening the unknown man immediately got up to make his escape as he sprinted right out of the area. "Shit! He's getting away!"

"Bando-san! Wait!" but it was too late as the ex-S.A.T. member was well out the door as he began the chase.

* * *

"I made it" breathed out the unknown man. "I'm alive". At this time he had managed to escape to the beach while managing to elude his attacker much to his relief. He then gritted his teeth in anger as the thought of being denied for the first time in his life began to settle in. "I'll get those b**ches the next time I come back. But first I need to get prepared for when I face them again".

"There won't be a next time for you . . . . "

The evil man turned around to be surprised in a very bad way as he then felt like sh**ting his pants. "_Lucy! What the hell is she doing here?_" he instinctively went to grab for his weapon only to realize he didn't have it with him seeing as he left his crossbow and all his ammunition back at the inn.

"You're going to pay for everything you've done . . . ."

" . . . . This was all a misunderstanding "

However she would not hear any of it. So with her vectors, she then grabbed every square inch of that bastard and lifted him into the air as she was only a breath away for reducing him to nothing but mush.

"Please! Put me down! I don't want to die like this!"

"_To hear garbage like him beg for his life now!_" Kaede squeezed her fists as she was now faced with a difficult choice. Simply no one had the right to take the life of another no matter who they were in this world. But she knew exactly how evil this man was and knew that the world would be better off if someone like him would cease to exist. If she had to dirty her hands with blood, then this would be the one time in her life where killing someone was not a problem for her. She had the power, she had the means, and she had the ability to get away with it. But simply killing this prick would not atone for every evil thing that he has ever done in his life. So with a heavy heart, she made her choice. Her eyes then glared intensely at him as her vectors began to swarm all over him.

"Oh s**t!" But as soon as it started was as soon as it ended as he found himself on the ground apparently unscathed. "But . . . . why . . . .?" However he spoke too soon as he felt like his body was being peeled back layer by layer all the way to the bone. "Ahhhhhhhhh!" as he rolled around. However moving made the pain even worse. "What did you do to me?"

"I cut every nerve ending in your body activating every single pain receptor you have . . . ." as she looked down at his pathetic form before turning away. Kaede soon turned around as she prepared herself to leave. "If you don't die of shock within the first twenty-four hours, then I hope for whatever amount of time you have left that you'll reflect on your actions as not even three of your lifetimes can repent for the horrible things you've done" as she started to walk away "may god have mercy on your soul because I will not . . . ." and with that she left leaving his fate up to a higher power.

At seeing what she had done he began to swear out loudly cursing her name in every way that he could. After some time and gaining enough calm, the unknown man attempted to reach for his cell phone. "If I can just call back to HQ then everything will be fine as they can fix me up with some drugs. But when I get back I'll definitely make you pay for what you've done!" However that would not come to pass as his phone was crushed in his hand as Lucy had apparently returned. The unknown man's eyes bulged as cold sweat trickled down his face. Soon, he began to laugh as death had now come knocking at his door.

But this time it was the real Lucy as she stood before the pain crippled bastard. "You know, my other is way too nice to leave you like this. But if she continues going like this then things will never progress to the conclusion I desired". She then lifted the man into the air as she had him stretched out completely.

"What are you talking about? . . . . .! What . . . . what are you doing?"

Lucy smirked as she stood up to look at him. "Finishing the business my stupid other could not do" and with that she ended his life as she slowly and painfully bent his body inward inch by inch like folding origami until all that was left of him was something that could only be cleaned up by a mop. "And now it's done". As she turned to walk away she wiped her cheek to see some faint residue of tears she had recently shed. "To think . . . . I would still be affected by such things . . . ."

* * *

Kaede had then recently returned to see Nana and Mariko in good health again as Nyu had finished healing them as Yuka and Kohta sat with Mayu to comfort her in the traumatic event. She then made her way to the other three dicloniuses as they sat around what remained of the unnamed girl who could only be identified as number twenty-eight.

"She doesn't have much time left" said Nyu sadly. "I've made her as comfortable as I could . . . ."

The pink diclonius nodded as she looked to the weary face of the girl known as number twenty-eight. Almost in sync with each other the four diclonius girls began to cry as they looked to her.

In the moment they all touched her mind they understood everything. In the most recent understanding of things, dicloniuses had the ability to sync their consciousness allowing them the ability to see each other's experiences, memories, and emotions. In the time they saw what laid in number twenty-eights heart all they could do was cry. Since the time she was born all she has ever known was pain and sorrow, but even through it all she never wished to harm anyone even the abusers who hurt her. But what broke their hearts the most was the horrors she was subjected too by the unknown man before they broke her to this state. Even through all the pain and suffering, her courageous soul still wanted to protect her fellow kin as she broadcasted a strong telepathic message telling any dicloniuses in her radius to run. Her resolve was so strong that her message was not only heard, but felt to even disclonii who were hiding themselves.

"Is there anything we can do for her oneesan?" asked Nyu.

" . . . . Give her the most peaceful end we can allow her by sharing a life she could not live" said Kaede softly.

Mariko and Nana immediately understood what she meant as the four dicloniuses closed their eyes establishing a connection with number twenty-eight. In that brief moment of time the poor child shared the lives of four different individuals as she seen, felt, and lived the memories of the happy times they have ever had. Mariko gave her the happiness of being reunited with her father. Nana gave her the happiness of what it meant to live a normal life. Nyu gave her the happiness of friendship and meeting good people. Finally Kaede gave her the happiness of having a family and being in love. As these images flashed by her like pictures in a movie the four dicloniuses then found themselves in an open field covered in grass and flowers. As they looked, they saw as number twenty-eight stood under a shaded tree smiling while waving to them. They immediately ran to her as they all stood before her as their time was now very short.

Number twenty-eight smiled to them as she waved. "Thanks for the memories and good-bye". In a flash of light the four had returned back to the physical world as the girl without a name . . . . had died. But with some consolation, they knew that although she died she died in peace knowing what happiness was.

"Kaede-chan . . . ."

The pink diclonius looked up as she could no longer hold it back anymore. ". . . . Kohta" to which she cried heavily along with the other three as it was simply too sad for any one person to bear.

But after some time had passed they had all calmed down as the Hikaru sisters had to hide as Bando came over to bury the remnants of number twenty-eight.

Although it still hurt far after that day, they would never forget her as that would be how they would honor her memory from then on.

* * *

A week had passed since that time as things were getting back to normal, but with a few differences here and there.

For the true Mariko that had reawakened soon fallen back to sleep two days later. It was never known how she woke up but it was a good thing that she did in order to protect both Nana and Mayu. Also in relation to her, Kurama had actually visited a solid three days in a row to make sure his daughters were OK much to his relief that they were.

Mayu still suffered from some post-trauma stress, but her recovery was looking good as she was smiling again. Surprisingly Bando came to visit at times to check up on her much to the worry of the sisters of being discovered.

Nozomi and Aiko became extremely worried after seeing the half-destroyed state the inn was in. But were assured it was one big accident to which Kaede and Nyu immediately fixed as they mended the household together again.

Now in the current time of the snowy evening, the happy little group was enjoying dinner together as they talked pleasantries with one another.

"Nozomi-chan, what's wrong? You haven't eaten anything?" asked Kohta.

"Umm . . . . It's because . . . . "

"Nozomi-chan's entrance exam results come in today" then said Yuka.

Aiko patted her on the back while sporting a large grin. "You should be fine. You're a terrific singer. Better than anything I've heard anywhere".

"You're good at what you do" said Kaede.

"We practice together all the time. You'll definitely pass!" said Nyu.

"Nozomi-neechan is great!" smiled Mariko.

"Have more confidence in yourself" said Mayu

"Sukiyaki! I mean you'll do fine" said Nana.

Nozomi placed her bowl down as she thought deeply of what everyone said. "Please don't worry about me. I have come to realize that everything that can be done has been done". She then paused briefly before continuing. "But I have a favor I would like to ask . . . . "

"Hmm? What would that be?"

"If I got accepted . . . . I too want to go to school from here. Umm . . . . Since school would be closer from here . . . ." She then began to shy away. "As I thought, it was a little too much to ask".

"Not at all, we'd gladly welcome you" said Yuka.

"Don't be that uptight OK?" said Kohta.

"Than . . . . Thank you so much!"

Dinner soon ended as everyone went to deal with what was left.

"Nozomi-chan, you don't have to do all the cleaning".

The said girl then looked to Kohta. "But I've been eating here all this time . . . ."

"It's alright" he then smiled. But suddenly she began to shiver which quickly caught his attention. "Is there something wrong?" But then found himself in a awkward situation as the brunette was now crying on his chest.

"To tell you the truth, I'm really scared. I loved to sing ever since I was little. But father said 'you can't'. Because of that I could only teach myself how to sing. I didn't take any singing lessons. Who could have thought that during the same exam everyone there would be a famous singer . . . . everyone would be so competent . . . . I'm . . . . really not expecting to pass it".

Kohta then gave her a solemn look as he petted her on the head. "I don't know anything about music. But if one learns to sing from others then their song would be dull. When I listen to Nozomi-chan's song I can feel Nozomi-chan's joy. That gave me a lot of joy and that is something you can't learn in any classroom. So I didn't feel any flaws in your performance".

"Thanks" Nozomi blushed, but shuttered.

"What's wrong?"

" . . . . I think I wet myself again" and as she excused herself, she made her way to the restroom only to reveal she did no such thing. "No, no, no, what am I thinking! Kohta-kun is already in a relationship with Kaede and Nyu-sempai". But her thoughts were soon disturbed as she heard a honk at the front door.

Soon everyone gathered to see Kohta holding a letter as everyone watched in anticipation to see if it were a pass or fail.

"I'm too scared to look . . . ." said Nozomi as she could barely stay in the room to listen.

"I'm sure it'll be fine" smiled Kohta. As he started to rip the letter they were soon disturbed by several uninvited guests as a heavily armed platoon barged through the front door readying their weapons to shoot anyone who resisted them.

But after years of conflict Kaede was immediately in battle mode as she deployed her vectors slicing up any weapon within her range before throwing them all out again. "_How did they know we were here?_""It's not safe here! Everyone get out of here while you still can!" as she stopped incoming bullets from crossing her.

"What about you?"

"Nyu! Take everyone and get out!"

"I can't leave you here!"

"This is not the time to argue with me! They are here to capture us! So it's better that they catch one us and not both of us! Besides I can hold them off on my own so I can buy you all the time you need to get away".

"But oneesan . . . . "

"Just go!" and with some hesitation she grabbed Aiko, Nozomi, Yuka, and Kohta as she ran. Although they didn't want to abandon a friend to such a thing they also understood that if they stayed they would only be in her way. "Why are you still here Nana? Take Mayu and Mariko and get out of here".

"Kaede-san, you felt it too didn't you? There are four dicloniuses out there. You can't beat them all!"

"That's where you're wrong . . . ."

Kaede looked down in surprise to feel the original Mariko return again. "But how?"

"As I said, don't worry about the particulars". She then looked up to Nana. "Neesan, if I don't make it out of this . . . ."

"Don't talk nonsense! You will return to us so we can be with papa again!"

Mariko was slightly stalled but then displayed a soft smile. "Just know I was happy to have had you as a sister".

"Mariko-chan . . . ."

"Now go . . . . they are currently rallying their forces "said Kaede. "We'll keep them busy while you guys escape".

With heavy hearts they left as Kaede and Mariko were left to face the army that stood in front of their home.

"So why did you choose to stay behind and help me? You know you could've just left and lived happily with your sister and father".

The child silpelit looked down with a grin. "Just think of this as a thank you".

"A thank you?"

"For watching over me and giving me the life I could've had. So in turn for giving me a chance, I'm going to return the favor".

The pink diclonius chuckled at her words.

"Hey! What's so funny? I was being serious!"

"I was just thinking how amusing it was for a brat not even ten years old to be this gutsy".

"Hmph, is that how you show your gratitude!"

Kaede then looked out to the army before them as they practically brought enough weapons and ammunition to start a war, and there in front of them stood four dicloniuses leading the charge. "You do know there's still time for you to run".

Mariko shook her head, "no . . . . this is one fight I know I have to do. So let's go meet this challenge together".

"Suit yourself brat!"

And with that the two strongest dicloniuses in existence fought against the unimaginable odds. Knowing full well of the high chance of defeat they still continued to fight on. As bullets and missiles were being sprayed around them neither of them faltered as they continued to fight keeping true to their promise of not killing. But the most difficult portion of this battle was the four silpelits which turned out to be four Mariko clones. But in comparison to the original they were clearly no match as Mariko beat them all senseless constantly proclaiming that no one could possibly beat the original. After three-fourths of the battle, Kaede forced Mariko to retreat as she grabbed and threw the petite girl quite a distance away. "_She'll be fine so long as she knows how to land_". Finally on the final round, it appeared as if she had won only to fall victim to fatigue as a sniper shot off one of her horns which ended with Kaede losing half of her power without even her knowing it. As she laid on the ground iches away from defeat, she never turned her back as she fought bravely till the end before blacking out.

* * *

"Where am I?" Kaede groaned as she picked herself off the grassy plains. Wait, grassy plains?

She took a full view of the area as it appeared she was now apparently in the open plains filled with beauty far beyond the eye could see. "But I thought the facility captured me . . . ."

Kaede then took notice of a lake nearby as she decided to go and investigate it. As she got closer she noticed an image right at the very edge of the water. "What is that?"

Narrowing her eyes she couldn't really tell what it was, but seeing as she had no idea where she was let alone how she got there she figured, why not?

But the closer she got a strange feeling began to overtake her as a sense of nostalgia and longing began to creep onto her. By the time she was only a few feet away from the lake, she captured a full view of what was there.

Next to that crystal blue lake was a pure white circular table accompanied with two white matching chairs. However what caught her attention the most was the woman sitting in one of those seats as she appeared to be brewing some tea. The woman then looked to her direction as she displayed a soft and genuine smile to her. "It's been a long time Kaede, you have certainly grown into quite a beautiful young woman".

At this time she didn't know whether to cry, smile, laugh, or doubt what she was seeing. However there was no denying that she was indeed in front her now. So doing the first thing she could think of, she walked right up to the woman and embraced her confirming that she was real and her aura was still the same as she remembered it.

Kaede smiled deeply as she moved back slightly keeping the woman in arms reach. "Hello mother".

To be continued . . . .

* * *

Author's notes: I had to cut out a lot of scenes and characters that were only featured in the original manga. But I hope what I created from it was something good to read. Simply if I added all the details, I guarantee you that you'll be bored to tears if you've already read the manga. But if you didn't then you aren't exactly missing much.

Now concerning this chapter 'the unknown man' never came with a name and I sure didn't want to give him one because simply that is how much I dislike him for who he was and for what he did to number twenty-eight. Additionally Bando did come in the original story to save Mayu and Nana from him to which I literally stood up and applauded him for doing that as he was beating the living shiest out of him. But in the end he did die by Lucy's hands to which Bando was supposed to die soon after (but revived later).

In retrospect, the whole Elfen lied story is rather short seeing as it takes place in a time frame of less than one year. During the manga portion after Mariko's death it does a time skip of six months as all the characters had slightly evolved a bit. But mostly Nyu as she is now capable of a lot of things by then.

But just like in the manga, Kaede/Lucy/Nyu does get recaptured by the facility as they bring her back to become the new eve of the human race, but ultimately fails.

Now finally in the next chapter everything from what some things changed and other things stayed the same will now be answered as the next chapter is something I'm really going to enjoy writing.

**Snowy-Sonya** – Yeah, people tend to get either really dirty or hurt in this manga. But anyways thank you for your patronage in sticking with this story thus far. I hope you stick around till the end.

**TURP** – Well thanks for sticking around.

**alvarorbenavides** – Yeah I was afraid of that. But the problem was putting in a lot of dialogue people wouldn't understand. So I figured narrating certain portions would be better overall. Perhaps I was mistaken on this part . . . . With Mariko alive I definitely wanted to take the story much further. However, I get the feeling I've messed it up somehow and . . . . I'm not sure how to describe it, but it seems that this story would now be better off if it came to an end soon. I just get this feeling this story could have been so much more, but I'm just not the right person who should've written it. But that is just my thoughts anyways.

**redrain8696** – Sorry to hear that, and I do wish you a speedy recovery. Thank you and your sister for reading. If you stick around a little longer you'll soon see how this story is going to end.

So now I thank you all for reading this fic and also further extend my gratitude if you can review it as well.


	28. Equilibrium

Chapter 28: Equilibrium

Synopsis: Everything whether in life or science must come to a cross road as everything must equal out in the end. The cycle is about to reach its end as events have now come full circle.

Now Kaede must face a choice whether to accept or deny her past, present, and future in order to bring the universe out of the chaos that was created from the simple choice she had made. In her choosing, she will discover what must be done to achieve the ending she wanted. However choice is never so easy when you come to understand what the full picture is.

Reminder: I do not own Elfen Lied or any characters associated with it

Special thanks to: **Haru Glory**, **Gaius The Dagger Mouth**, and **OnyxSwarm** for contributing to the construction of this chapter.

"talking"

_thoughts_

_

* * *

_

Kaede wasn't certain about how she was supposed to feel. She was happy to have been able to meet her mother again. But the problem about that was . . . . she was dead.

"In case you're wondering" smiled Mikomi. "You aren't dead" as she took a sip of her tea.

"I . . . ."

"You don't understand how you are able to be talking to me seeing as I am dead unless you were. But I can assure you that you are very much alive".

"But then . . . ."

"How are you talking to me? Well that part gets a bit complicated". Mikomi then waved her hand to her opposite side. "Would you like to take a seat?"

Kaede nodded slowly as she sat down carefully as if making sure she wasn't hallucinating or having a very bad delusional dream. "But then . . . ."

"Where are you?"

"Are you going to let me talk?" she then interjected.

The elder woman was slightly taken back as she let out a chuckle to her daughter's annoyance. "Sorry, force of habit of this place". Mikomi then poured a cup a tea as she passed it to Kaede. "I always forget that you were never the type to allow yourself to be in a disadvantage to anyone around you".

Kaede waved her hands in an apologetic fashion while taking her cup. "It's not like that mother. It's just that . . . ."

"This is all just a lot to take in".

The pink diclonius nodded her head. I mean it wasn't everyday that someone could talk to a loved one who has been dead for roughly five years. But in sensing how tense the atmosphere had gotten, "So umm, how . . . . have you been?" But she soon mentally berated herself. "_Stupid! That was a very dumb question to ask!_"

Mikomi gave a soft chuckle. "I've been well and I've been happy to see that your life has been turning out rather well".

"What do you mean?"

"I've been watching over you for the last five years and if I do say so myself, you have gotten yourself into quite a lot of . . . . 'interesting' experiences with Kohta-kun and your friends".

Kaede turned deep red as she looked away in embarrassment. But her head immediately flickered back as she looked to her. "But how can you even know about these things? But more importantly, how are you even here? Where am I? What is this place? And aren't I supposed to have been captured by that Kakuzawa group?"

Mikomi waved her hand to calm her down. "One question at a time dear as some of your questions are more complicated to answer then others". She then placed her finger on her cheek in a thinking pose. "But where should I start first . . . ."

But that was obvious for the horned girl as this one was the most important thing for her to know. "Are you really my mother?"

"Hmm, that is a very difficult question indeed". She then snapped up as she took a sip of her tea. "But if there was any simpler way of putting it, then the answer would be both yes and no".

". . . .Huh?"

"You see Kaede, what you see before you now is a residual self-representation of the person you once knew as Mikomi Hikaru. Although I share all of her memories, experiences, and feelings I'm not really her as the woman once known as Mikomi Hikaru has long since moved on from your plain of existence".

". . . . Then what are you exactly?"

"Another complicated question as there had been many words and phrases used to describe what I am exactly. However by the limited understanding of human consciousness then I suppose what I am would be by human terms an ascended being or perhaps even god to a certain extent".

"What? What exactly is that supposed to mean? And how exactly is that related to my mother?"

"That's another very complicated question to answer". Mikomi then thought deeply about it until she snapped her fingers. "Touch the lake and I believe you should more or less understand exactly what I am".

Kaede raised her eyebrow at the peculiar recommendation. But seeing as there was no harm in it as well as the fact her common logic really had no grounds in this place she might as well had complied seeing as she didn't exactly have anything to lose. Slowly as she got up to do it she made her way to the water's edge as she took a seat next to it. As she slowly dipped her hand into the cool liquid, a flash of images began to flow through her mind as she had to immediately pull back from the strain of the influx of information. She then slowly got back up taking her seat again at the table looking a bit shaken.

"It was pretty intense right?"

She nodded slightly as she attempted to recall everything that she could remember from that brief experience. Simply where she was could not be articulated in a few words as it was a place both somewhere and nowhere at the same time. If she had tried to formulate a description for it then this place was where all consciousness tends to drift too. Any further then that would take a few lifetimes to explain. In addition, the 'person' in front of her was similar to this place as 'she' was both everything and nothing at the same time. But likewise before, it would take a few lifetimes to explain exactly what she was. But that didn't exactly answer the question she wanted to know. "Why do you look like mother?"

"Because what you see before you now is that of a fragment of her existence. A part of her she left here in the event of what would eventually occur".

Kaede tilted her head in confusion as she didn't know where this was heading. "What are you talking about?"

Mikomi smiled at her while taking a sip of her tea. "You see Kaede, this isn't the first time we have met nor was it your mothers as things have played out".

". . . .!"

"You see, hmm . . . . Perhaps it would be better if I just show you". She then pointed to the lake to which the pink diclonius looked too and in that instant another flash of images entered her mind as she gasped at the sudden intake of data.

"I . . . . I really did meet you. But it was in another lifetime . . . . But I don't understand why or . . . ."

"As I said this is where things get tricky". Mikomi took a breath in as she prepared herself for the explanation. "Every choice made in existence brings about a different event in the grand machinery design of the universe, and with each possible choice made in the universe generates a new possibility of a future that could potentially occur. Humans came to understand this idea from the physicist known as Einstein on his theory of relativity, but later by accordance to many timelines this idea would further evolved and came to be known as the butterfly effect". Kaede nodded her head as she was following along thus far. "In that lifetime where I had met you, I had completely rewritten the universes existence. In the context of branching off a different timeline based off the choice of a single individual in your universe".

"A single individual?" as Kaede took a sip of her tea.

"That individual was none other than your mother. In her initial search for you in the universe you came from, she failed to find you in the fourteen years she had been looking as her only reward in the end was ending up in Kakuzawa's hands as she was forced to produce a son for him and not long after taking her own life in despair of what had happened".

Kaede's eyes widened at the explanation as she couldn't believe that such a thing could have occurred. "What are you talking about? You found me! Mother found me when I was seven years old!"

Mikomi shook her head in a sense of sadness. "Not in your original universe . . . ." In that moment another flash of images went through her head as the pink diclonius understood exactly what she was talking about.

"It . . . . It can't be . . . ."

The elder woman nodded as she continued. "In that event, I had slightly influenced her course of action guiding her to you to which where this new timeline is now existing. But because of my interference, the human known as Mikomi Hikaru became aware of my presence to which in that brief chance encounter our consciousness made contact in which your mother had then gained a heightened ability to which she wasn't supposed to have".

"Ability she wasn't supposed to have?" Kaede reiterated.

"Yes, you see your mother had gained the vague sense of seeing the leylines of the future for every cause to effect event that could have possibly played out in the domain of her existence".

The horned girl immediately took note of that as a certain event then came to mind. "But that can't be right! If you . . . . mother had the ability to see the future then why did she die knowing full well it was going to happen!"

Mikomi simply sipped her tea at the outburst. "I'll get to that, so please allow me to continue with my explanation" Kaede calmed her nerves even though there were now so many questions surging through her mind. "Of course the choice of allowing Mikomi to find you wasn't the only possibility I had created within each branch timeline. In every version, a series of complications occurred stemming from events inputted within the systematic of choice".

Another flash of images passed through her mind as Kaede saw different versions of herself stemming from the different choices that were made creating the new parallel universes.

"Initially, I had believed that silencing 'the voice' from your existence would have allowed you a better life as your sub-consciousness would have been clear of any influential thoughts tempting you from making any decision that would have negative repercussions with your life. However, it proved not as favorable as you still repeated the same mistakes in some universes while in others which turned out to be one of the worst case scenarios got you sent into human trafficking. Additionally . . . ."

"Wait! What do you mean voice?" Kaede then interjected. She remembered something about it as Nana had at one time referenced to it. As far as she knew in her current life, she had never really heard 'a voice'. "_But maybe it was that thing I first encountered when my powers first developed. Although that incident only occurred once . . . . could that have been it?_"

Mikomi gave a soft smile. "Don't worry, that portion I will explain in time for there is still much to say". The elder woman took another sip of her tea as she then continued. "Additional attempts were also made is trying to give you an early preconception of what your future might entail through inputted thoughts. This situation proved to have rather high rate of success with a fewer repercussions as most of the possibilities that had been generated were promising results. However some of them did not end quite favorably as . . . ." another flash of images entered her mind "you could not handle some of the things you came to learn. However your life came to be one extreme dynamic after another as your life radically changed from one end of the spectrum to the other no matter what change was implemented. That in itself was rather surprising to see how the life of a single individual could have possibly have been so complicated. But in your complexity laid the answer of simplicity to how your life could have been changed for the better, and do you know what that was?"

Kaede looked to her mother as she slowly shook her head because simply she really had no idea what it could've been.

Mikomi then laid her head on her hand as she planted her arm onto the table displaying a wide and brilliant smile. "It was love".

"Love?" as the pink diclonius twitched her eyebrow.

The elder woman nodded. "If there was any one constant that had always remained the same no matter what choices were made in the world, love was the one thing that had kept you from hurting anyone. In every possible world that was ever created Kohta was that one constant no matter what choice was made that had given you some semblance of happiness in your life. At seeing that, it became quite clear that all you really needed in the end no matter what choices were made, you just needed someone to be there for you and love you sincerely through all the happy and sad times of your life".

As another flash of images crossed her mind, all Kaede could do was smile fondly as her statement held the highest truth for her in every lifetime she had ever lived.

"However in your reality, an anomaly had occurred which by all sense should never had happened . . . ."

Kaede looked to her mother quizzically as she didn't understand what she was talking about. "What do you mean by that?" she asked hesitantly uncertain if she wanted to know the answer.

"During the formation of your reality, whether it was your conscious or unconscious decision this was an event that was never supposed to happen . . . ."

The pink diclonius began to feel the agitation of anticipation. "What decision? What was never supposed to happen?"

Mikomi then looked to her sadly as it was clear to see she was visibly having a hard time on what she wanted to say next. "You . . . . really don't understand what it is . . . . do you?"

Kaede's face scrunched as she really didn't like being poked around like this. "What is it?" as she stood up. "What was never supposed to happen in my existence?"

The elder woman looked away quite visibly shaken before looking back. "Whether it was a conscious decision or not . . . . the person known as Nyu Hikaru . . . . was never supposed to exist".

". . . . What?" the horned girl then took a seat again as she gave a low strained chuckle. "What are you talking about? Of course she was supposed to exist. She's my precious sister after all".

Mikomi shook her head as she then looked to her sadly. "I'm sorry Kaede . . . . your sister . . . . my daughter . . . . was never supposed to exist . . . ."

She then stood up again feeling angry at that statement. "Of course she exists! She was there standing right beside me all those years!" At that statement memories of her childhood came flooding back as she recalled all the times she had ever shared with Nyu. "How can you say she doesn't exist?"

The woman however calmly drank her tea before setting her cup back down as her expressions seemed unreadable from the mixture of the fact she was both her mother and an ascended being. "The universe exists on a set equilibrium to which everything in reality must always exist in a balance with one another. However in the case of your universe, Nyu was never suppose to have a separate existence from you as she was only supposed to exist as an alternate persona of the original host body 'Kaede'. Due to this confliction, reality was forced to create a new balance as the existence of the original host 'Kaede' was split in half in order to counter balance the new karmic values of your world. However your choices continued to unbalance reality as things went on . . . ."

"What do you mean my choice? What choice are you talking about?"

Mikomi closed her eyes in contemplation before reopening them. "Initially it was fine for the both of you to exist so long as the universe was balanced. But then another anomaly was created when you weren't able to make that choice . . . ."

" . . . . and what would that be?"

". . . .That night when you first met your father, if you had killed him . . . . that would have been enough to create the necessary balance for you and Nyu to exist together. But in choosing not to do it an impossible event occurred in which another being was born from you . . . ."

". . . . Wait! You can't mean . . . .!"

She nodded as she saw Kaede understand exactly what she had done. "Yes . . . . in your decision of not wanting to take that man's life . . . . Lucy was born to take the role you couldn't handle . . . ."

". . . . What I couldn't handle? What is that suppose to mean?"

"Kaede . . . . Lucy was a part of you. But when you rejected that part of your existence, you created Lucy to take all things you didn't like as you pushed all your despair, anguish, and sorrow onto her . . . . One of those things you pushed onto her was 'the voice'".

" . . . ."

"You see, like all living creatures we all have a sense of self-preservation as it is natural for any sentient being to fear the possibility of death. However for a diclonius, the instinct for self-preservation is far much stronger than any existence on Earth to the point where your kind would kill simply out of the lowest statistical chance of a threat to your life".

"That voice . . . . when my powers first developed . . . . that was the thing I pushed onto Lucy?"

"Yes because it was something you refused about yourself along with many other things, the existence known as Lucy was forced to endure in your stead . . . ."

Kaede then looked down as guilt began to weigh on her. "Lucy . . . . was forced to take my burden . . . ."

"There is no need to blame yourself as you weren't aware of these facts. However because there existed three versions of yourself in the exact same time and place, reality was once again forced to play the numbers game as your existence was then broken to a third to compensate for the irregularities. But this is where things continued to get complicated . . . ."

"What do you mean?"

"Events that were never supposed to happen happened while certain events that were supposed to happen didn't occur. Simply . . . ." as another flash of images passed through Kaede's mind. "You caused one big mess within the dynamics of causality".

The pink diclonius began to heave at the stress of having to see so much in such a short amount of time. Although most of it seemed like a blur, there did appear a few images that were recognizable. "Mayu looked . . . . so happy . . . . and Nana . . . . why does she look so young?"

"This was the world that was supposed to be created if you had accepted your role. Since then, you would have been able to control 'the voice' in which some people didn't have to die while others never had to become infected by the diclonius virus". Mikomi took a quick tea break. "In your friend's case, one of Lucy's victims both in this reality as well as in your last lifetime happened to have been Mayu-chan's father. If her father never died then he would have been able to protect her and in some other versions of reality had managed to give Mayu-chan the happy family life she had always yearned for".

Kaede looked down guiltily, "I . . . . caused Mayu's suffering?"

"As for your friend Nana, by the event of the ripple effect she would never had been born a diclonius in which she would never had to experience the horrors in her early life. Much to every other diclonius locked up in that hell hole of a facility".

"I . . . . I caused all this? Is all this suffering my fault!"

Mikomi shook her head as she gave her daughter a reassuring smile. "It's not your fault. It's not like you knew this was going to happen. In your own actions you changed a lot of people's lives for the better as your influence even now back in your time and space continues to shine on towards other people".

Kaede looked down in thought before looking back to Mikomi. "But why did mother have to die then? What relevance could that have been to me . . . .?"

"That bit was rather complicated. But simply she saw in every possible event in your future that her death was the only way to set you off on the rest of your life". She then gave a grim look as she was nearing the end of what she had to say. "But this is where everything must now come to meet its end". She then took a breath before continuing. "Here is a question for you, who do you think you are in the world based on what it is now?"

"Who am I?" said Kaede. She then took a moment to speculate this after everything she had learned. But simply that was the problem as she had learned far too much. At this moment she had wished she could remain ignorant over this matter as she would have preferred to continue living believing Nyu was her sister and Lucy was just some random psychopath in the world. But unfortunately, life would not allow itself to be that simple for her. As it stood, if Nyu represented one end of her spectrum while Lucy represented the other then . . . . "I am the balance that holds everything together".

"And it is for this reason that now a conclusion must come to pass". She then gave a sigh as the next part was going to be the most difficult to explain. "You see Kaede, due to the instability of your world created from your three versions . . . . the only way for your world to continue as it is . . . . only one of you may be allowed to exist . . . ."

"What . . . . What the hell is that supposed to mean?" she then said in a somewhat threatening manner. "I hope I just heard you incorrectly, but I think you just told me that I had to kill my sister!"

Mikomi shook her head as she too was having difficulty relaying what she had to say. "She was never your sister to begin with. At the threat of your reality collapsing, the three of you must become one in order to stabilize your world. It would be then that your world can be saved".

"That's insane! If there was any real piece of my mother inside of you then she would not tell me to do such a ludicrous thing!"

"But there is something else you don't understand yet . . . ."

"What's more to understand? If I just had to get rid of Lucy that is something my consciousness can live with. But you're telling me I have to kill my sister! My own flesh and blood! Because I don't think you understand that whether what you say is true or not, it doesn't matter to me as Nyu has already become far too important to me to ever let go!"

". . . . Nyu . . . . already understood her fate long ago . . . ."

For another time that moment Kaede was taken back at her mother's response. "What?"

"Maybe not on a conscious level, but the existences of Nyu and Lucy both understood that in time they would have to return to the source as it was their fate when the three of you came into existence".

"So Lucy was aware of this too? Is that why she was always attacking me?"

"I can only interpret her actions as I cannot see her intentions. However it is the most likely reason why she has been so aggressive to you". Mikomi then looked towards the sky before looking back to Kaede. "There is not much time left as you now must return back to your body".

"Wait! There is so much I need to know! So much I need to understand! You can't just tell me all of this and expect me to figure out the rest on my own!"

The elder woman then stood up as she walked to her daughter. "Do not worry over the trivial matters like that. Like your mother, you too have the power to shape your destiny to whatever you want it to be". She then slouched over as she gave Kaede a deep hug. "But before you go your mother left one message for me to give you . . . ."

Her eyes widened as tears almost seemed imminent. "Mother . . . ."

Kaede could feel her smile against her cheek as she whispered into her ear. "Whatever type of person you decide to be in your life, know that I was proud to be your mother and I have no regrets in the choices I made in raising you along with your sister. So as my final message to you Kaede . . . . my daughter . . . . my strong little girl . . . . my maple light . . . . know that I'm very proud of the person you grew up to be and that I love you . . . ."

As the horned girl wrapped her arms around her, even though she knew this woman wasn't really her mother it was fine as she was happy to have been able to receive her message.

* * *

" _. . . . It's so dark . . . ._" Kaede's eyes fluttered open as she looked around at her surroundings. In her area of observation she was in a dark dank like cave with some light penetrating some areas. In her current state, she was apparently naked as she was bonded to the wall to some sort of device. However she didn't seem at all the bit surprised as she soon removed her bindings before making her way to the heavy door attempting to force it open.

"Now . . . . I understand . . . ." As the entity had said before her 'departure', she had the power to shape her future. Even before her current situation, she always had this power as it was always with her since her youth with those strange dreams she used to have. Now, she understood everything that did, will, and could happen as the future now almost seemed to lay bare before her.

But the most troubling part about it was also the fact she remembered her last life and what kind of person she used to be. As the door slowly began to open, a mixture of several negative feelings began to weigh heavily on her. She remembered all the horrible things she had done in her last life during the time she was known as Lucy. The weight of how many people she killed made her want to gag as she didn't want to believe she used to be that monster.

Kaede grunted as she clenched her teeth while holding her face at feeling the overwhelming memories. " _. . . . This was . . . . the person I used to be . . . .But no more. I . . . . am Kaede, and this is my story. I will not allow anyone else to suffer for my mistake_".

As the door finally opened she was met with the sight of a decapitated old man and a giant monstrous creature as its body parts were littered all over the lake. This image was déjà vu to her as this was exactly what she had done in her past life. However the difference was her little half brother wasn't lying dead next to Kakuzawa, the old bastard who couldn't understand that all he and his family were was just a bunch of humans with a strange bone mutation. In his arrogance, he never realized he and his family was drowning in a misery that never really existed.

"So you finally understand now . . . . "

Kaede looked up to see her other sitting on Anna's supposed corpse as it still lay motionless within the lake. But as her eyes met her, she couldn't look into them as she was forced to look away in guilt.

"Soon everything will meet its end as it should have been the day I was born into this joke of an existence".

From her contact with the entity, Lucy was an anomaly of this world and because of the special quality of her existence she was able to retain all the memories of their last life.

Lucy soon stood up as she then lowered herself down from the enormous corpse with the use of her vectors. After finally levitating her way down, she slowly made her way to her. "You're going to pay for everything that you did to me . . . ."

". . . . I'm sorry" as Kaede still couldn't face Lucy as she was visibly shaking now.

"You're far too late to say something like that to me! You stole the life that was equally supposed to be mine!"

" _._ _. . . I'm so sorry . . . ._"

"You can't possibly understand the life you forced onto me. I was forced to be the discarded product of some girl who couldn't live with herself".

" _._ _. . . Please forgive me . . . ._"

"I was created to be the child who was always hated without reason or care. So tell me my dear sister! Why was I made to be your horse as you lived as my queen riding off my pain?"

" _. . . . Please Lucy . . . . Don't . . . ._"

"But soon all this will change as everything you took from me will soon be mine" as Lucy now stood face to face with Kaede.

As she stood before her, the pink diclonius dared not to look at her. Now it had finally became clear to her at the feeling she always felt when Lucy was around. During those times when she faced her she had always thought it was fear that gripped her. However the truth could not be further than that. For the truth was . . . . "_it was guilt I felt at what I had forced onto you . . . ._"

"You should remember that this was the day we were supposed to die. How fitting it would be that everything came to end at that moment". The sadistic girl gritted her teeth as she continued to look at Kaede. "I refuse to return back to you as I would rather see this world reduced to nothing before that happens. But you should already know that there is another way out of this for me".

Kaede continued to look away as Lucy was also aware of what she came to learn from her encounter with the entity. Although she herself was the original that did not necessarily mean their essence had to return to her. The fact was their existence was broken evenly between the three of them. To now properly exist in the world all that really needed to be done was for all the essence of the being known as 'Kaede' to exist in one container. This simply meant . . . .

"I will soon kill both you and that annoying other as I will become the original allowing me to be the sole existence known as Kaede".

The horned girl's face then became dead serious as she faced Lucy with full intent. "You will not touch her".

However, Lucy couldn't help but grin at her others reaction. "How funny, you still defend her as if she were really your sister. But because of the three separate actions of one individual, this world has already reached its maximum entropy to which this reality will soon collapse. So there really is no point whether or not if she lives as this world will disappear as if it never occurred". A thought then came to mind as her grin soon became a maniacal smile. "But perhaps I'll hold my plans of killing you to allow you some precious time with our 'dear beloved sister'. If you can actually kill her you might have some chance in beating me to which I 'might' not mind being a part of you again".

Kaede's breath began to become shallow at Lucy's words.

She then turned about as she began to levitate again. "You know where this all has to end. So I'll meet you there at the appointed time. Don't be late now".

As she watched Lucy ascend higher towards the main levels of the facility she saw every event that had just been played out. That sadistic girl was soon going to sink this island underneath the ocean along with everyone else on it. During her trip towards the lower level, Lucy killed every guard and scientist that was in her presence before destroying the main power grid that kept every silpelit in the facility under lock and key.

Even without needing to connect to them, the combined telepathic presence of every diclonius in the area formed one mass as it screamed one unifying thought. "_The humans must die for hurting us!_"

But she wasn't surprised at this as she felt all their pain. But as the current situation stood neither the disclonii or the surviving humans could be saved as there were too many them as they were sweeping through the compound, and simply they couldn't be allowed back onto the mainland as they were all far too gone to care who they were killing so long as they were human.

However there was one problem as Kurama and his trusted colleagues were still on the base. For just recently they had finished developing the vaccine to the diclonius virus. But the problem was, at this very moment they were currently trapped in the facility as they were fending off a hoard of angry silpelits who were instinctively attracted the presence of the 'cure'.

"_I need to go make sure they get out of here safely before I proceed on_" and with that she made her way up through the institution. While ascending she gathered a few items she was going to need before going on any further which were namely cloths, flashlights, and a radio.

As she quickly proceeded through the corridors it soon became apparent that the silpelits were now purely acting on instinct as some walked right by her without reacting. So long as she wasn't acting antagonistically against them they wouldn't do anything to her.

Concerning her course direction, there wasn't really any point to trying to radio Kurama or really needing to depend on future sight to find him. The vaccine they developed seemed to have been resonating as if calling out a danger signal to every diclonius in the area. Simply by sensing it, the stoic man was on the move along with his team as they were more or less realizing they were running around with a bull's eye in their hand.

"_I better hurry before they get killed_".

"No! Please someone help! I don't want to die here!"

"Someone please help us!"

Kaede ears immediately picked up the S.O.S. as she clearly heard two females yelling for help. Seeing what floor she was on, it was most likely some secretaries as they were s**t out of luck concerning the situation. She didn't have time to stop and help people as she had to get Kurama's group out of the building with the vaccine or else humanity would be doomed to extinction by the hands of a bunch of homicidal psychics whose sense of ethics and morals were no more than animals. In addition to that, she had no reason to care. For every human in the facility was guilty of doing these inhumane things knowing full well that it was wrong. So following the signal she continued to move.

The two secretaries held each other as the room they were in was now filled with disclonii as they sat around them. They knew they were going to die and there was nothing they could possibly do to stop it nor was there going to be some rescue party to save them. All they could do now was pray that their deaths were swift and painless as it didn't take a genius to realize that they were angry and that they would want to make them suffer for as long as possible before their deaths.

As the silpelits deployed their vectors, the two scared women held each other close preparing themselves for the worse. But soon a huge crashing sound was heard as they both flinched in reaction to the sound. At seeing they were still unharmed they both opened their eyes to see a clothed diclonius as every silpelit in the room were crashed on opposite sides of each other appearing to have been completely knocked out.

The two women looked fearfully at their savior as she looked back to them with some contempt.

". . . . But . . . . why?"

"Get up" said Kaede angrily. "And stay close. This place is still very dangerous and I'm in a hurry. So if you want to live don't do anything stupid and follow my instructions exactly" as she then turned around exiting into the hallway.

They looked at her fearfully before looking at each other at what to do.

"What should we do?"

"She's like them, a diclonius. We can't trust her!"

". . . . But she saved our lives. So we might be able a good person . . . ."

"Don't be a fool. She might just be saving us just to kill us herself".

"Hurry up!" then shouted Kaede. "Or you can find your own way out!"

The women looked to each other before nodding in agreement. They then got up as they followed the horned girl closely. Simply they really didn't have any other choice as they were unarmed, had no combat training, and it was either her or getting out on their own. At seeing the odds they were better off staying with Kaede then trying to get out on their own.

As the pink diclonius began to move she had a mixture of feelings for the action she had just performed. In her past life, she knew these people were responsible for breeding this misery as they allowed it to continue knowing that it was wrong. If they were killed here that was fine seeing as that was karma at work if they were going to be buried by the hatred they made. But if she were to leave them to die like that then, "_I would be no better than Lucy_".

She refused to allow herself to think similarly to that sadistic girl. This was her proof, her proof that she was different from her past self as she was capable of forgiveness. But that didn't change the fact she didn't like it. However the righteous road is not the one easily taken.

As she went along she started to gather a small pocket of survivors. Although a few of them were more complicated than others as some of them tried to back stab her in both the metaphorical and literal sense, she still wanted to believe in her path of righteousness as she made her way towards her objective.

* * *

Kurama and five other scientists were racing down the hallway as they were escaping the silpelit hoard that was after them.

"Chief Kurama! They're right behind us! Let's just ditch the cargo and escape already!"

"No!" he then commanded. "If we lose the research we'll be set back by years before being able to recreate the vaccine. We can't afford to lose it". He then took out his gun armed with .50 caliber rounds as he began to open fire. Some of the silpelits were easy to take down as their vectors weren't strong enough to stop them. But the troublesome ones were the silpelits who were capable of doing so. "S**t! I'm almost out of bullets". He then spotted a hydrogen tank. So taking aim he fired at it causing it to instantly combust consuming that portion of the hallway in flame.

"Did you get them? Are we in the clear?"

"I slowed them down for now. We need to get to the emergency pods. If we can get there we'll be fine".

As they accessed another corridor they opened a door only to be surprised by what was behind it.

Kurama's eyes widened at seeing another hoard right behind the door that was between them and the escape hatches. "Get back!"

It was too late as the male scientist was cut down as the four remaining backed towards Kurama as he took aim with his weapon. But before he could fire, his gun was crushed as now his group was completely defenseless. They then turned around to run only to be completely flanked on both ends by another hoard.

"_What a way to go_" the stoic man then thought.

But like a miracle out of heaven, a pink angel had descended onto them as she cleared the hall smashing one of the flanking groups into the wall.

"You know if you hadn't blown a few hallways up along the way I could've gotten to you sooner. God knows how angry Nana and Mariko would be at me if you even got one scratch on you".

"Kaede! What are you doing here?" asked Kurama in surprise as he looked to her and then saw the assorted survivors standing right behind her.

"Long story short, captured, escaped, and now helping you and your colleagues get the hell out of here" Kaede responded.

"Captured! What happened to my daughters? Where are they?"

"Don't worry, they're fine. They escaped during my capture". She then pointed to the box one of the scientists was holding. "Is that the vaccine?"

"Yes, but how . . . ."

"If you haven't already noticed that thing is calling every disclonii to you and if you haven't forgotten I'm a disclonius too".

Kurama mentally faced smacked himself at his stupid question. "The escape route currently is being blocked by them" as he pointed to the silpelit hoard. "Do you think you can clear them?"

"I could" said Kaede. "But we have more problems than that" pointing out the aggressive group that have appeared behind them.

Everyone watched as they all had different feeling at what they saw but most commonly fear.

The horned girl saw the problem to which she was stuck with a pain in the a** choice. If she decided to attack one flanking group then the survivors on the opposite side would get killed. She then looked down as she placed her vectors into position. "Kurama, are there escape hatches on the floor below us?"

"Yes, why?" But his question was soon answered as he along with the survivors felt a force pull them together as the floor gave out below them. They then landed to the next floor as Kaede took point.

"Kurama take the lead! I'll take care of keeping the group safe and escort you all to the escape pods".

"Wait! Chief, we can't trust her. She's a diclonius for gods sake!" At that statement the survivors began to twitch as realization sank in that they were following the enemy. With that, Kaede began to feel annoyed at how stupidly they were behaving. "_I don't have any god damn time for this nonsense!_" But this problem was soon quelled.

"Just shut up and follow her!" Kurama then said. "She'll get us out of here safely!"

"But we can't trust her! She's the enemy!"

The stoic man looked to the horned girl before looking back. "Because I know this girl and I trust her with my life" and with that the argument was settled as they followed along without complaint. He then took care of the navigation while Kaede chose the safest paths with the least amount of silpelit concentration in the area. In time the group made it to the escape hatches with a few unfortunate casualties which couldn't be helped considering the situation.

As the survivors jumped into the pods one by one, Kaede and Kurama decided to go last to make sure everyone made it out safely. Finally it was the two secretaries turn as they were getting into a pod.

One of the women then faced her as she took a slight bow. "Thank you . . . . for everything . . . ."

"Fine! Just hurry and go!" and with that the two made their escape.

Kurama then placed the vaccine case into the pod as he got in himself. He then looked back to see his pink compatriot just standing there. "What are you doing? We have to escape now. If what you said was true then this facility will be ten-thousand feet below in just a matter of minutes!"

"Go first" Kaede replied back softly. "I'll get going in a moment. So make sure to get that research to safety".

"But . . . ."

"Just go!" she then said more sharply. "I'll be right behind you . . . ."

The stoic man stared at her before completely getting into his pod. "See that you do . . . ." and with that he left.

Kaede watched as the facility came crashing down all around her, and to be frank she was happy to see it go. If she ever had to thank Lucy for anything, it was for destroying this abominable place. That place was the definition of misery and she was happy to see that it will soon be buried in the ocean where a monstrosity like it should be. She then jumped into her pod as she soon made her escape.

As her pod was launched into the ocean, the facility along with the entire island itself was soon swallowed underneath several tons of water thanks to her other destroying the infrastructure of the small landmass. As the detestable place soon disappeared so with it every murderous psychic and possibly some survivors that were on it. In her coffin like box, Kaede laid in it calmly in the dark as she contemplated whether she should feel regret or sadness for them. Those silpelits had only known a life of pain and death. However, they never deserved their current fate. But allowing them to rejoin society would be impossible as the environment would not allow them the peaceful life she would have wanted for them to which they would begin killing again. Concerning the survivors she couldn't save, she could not say that she was either happy or sad for their demise. In the end, they got what was coming to them.

As her pod continued to drift along the oceans currents, she reflected on how life for her had suddenly become so heavy. In making contact with the entity she now had the weight of reality resting on her shoulder at which she now had a difficult choice to make. Now from a simple logical perspective, it was basically utilitarianism in which the needs of the many outweighed the needs of the few to which with the death of two people it would save this reality from non-existence. However in counter to this was the value of life as one of the people she was forced to erase was someone she had loved, protected, and looked after for most of her life. Kaede then wrapped her face in her hands in a futile attempt to resist the urge to cry. "_Nyu . . . . what am I supposed to do?_" Whatever choice she would make would forever reflect on the rest of her life.

Now finally reaching the shores of Kamakura, the escape pod automatically ejected its hatch as the pink diclonius sat up to see the sun and sky once more. As she looked around she was surprised to see that two people were waiting for her on the beach at that very moment as they soon began to walk up to her.

Kaede then exited her vessel as she got up to meet them half-way. However a sense of dread would not disappear off her face as she got closer to them. But after what seemed like an eternity between them, she finally stood in front of the smiling faces of both Nyu and Kohta as they seemed relieved to see her.

"Thank god you're OK" said the tanned youth as he then immediately hugged her.

However the pink figure could not react as her gaze was primarily focused onto her sister as she herself only continued to look back.

"Hello oneesan" smiled Nyu. "Welcome back".

To be continued . . . .

* * *

Author's notes: Almost at the end soon. Now in the manga, Kakuzawa wanted to use Kaede/Lucy/Nyu as the new Eve of human life while using her half brother as the Adam for it (yeah I know, incest . . . . .). But without hesitation she killed both him and the child followed by the annihilation of the institution. It was also here that she learned of the fate of her biological mother. As this part came to a close, Kohta waited for her on the beach where things were coming to their end.

Now concerning the chapter, I hope everything made sense since there was a whole lot to take in at one go. But if there are any questions, you're more than welcomed to ask since I might have missed a detail unintentionally that I did not address before.

**Snowy-Sonya** – Thank you for your patronage to this story, and I hope you've enjoyed what you've read thus far. So I hope everything turns out well in the end.

**TURP** – Yeah like most anime/manga, things always gets darker before the dawn.

**redrain8696** – I'd like to thank both you and your sister for reading thus far, and I do hope you enjoy how this story will soon come to end.

**ShadowKittenMewFan** – Yeah, I was never good at summarizing. But thank you for giving the story a chance, and thank you for your compliments. So I hope you'll stick around to see how it will soon end.

So I thank you all for reading this fic and I further extend my gratitude if you can review it as well.


	29. Aftermath

Chapter 29: Aftermath

Synopsis: Things have now reached full circle as the cycle must now come to an end. The point where time had stopped has begun again as the life she has lived has been on borrowed time. Fate demands that only one may stand.

Now at the beginning and end of where this all started, Kaede must now choose. In her decision, will it be a price worth paying?

Reminder: I do not own Elfen Lied or any characters associated with it

"talking"

_thoughts_

_

* * *

_

Kaede looked away as she couldn't bare the sight of her.

"Oneesan, is there something wrong?" asked Nyu worriedly. "Did something happen?"

"_Stop it . . . ._" It felt like pins were being jammed into her side. Her smiling face only added more pain to injury as she still couldn't face the choice in front of her. She then softly pushed Kohta away as she looked into his eyes. "Kohta . . . . do you mind waiting over there for a while?"

His eyebrow perched slightly at her unusual behavior. "Is there something wrong Kaede-chan?"

The horned girl continued to look away. She then looked back with a cheerful expression trying to ease his concern. "No, it's just I want to have a word with my sister . . . . alone".

Kohta knew it was facade. But not wanting to aggravate things, he abided as he moved back towards the sidewalk. "If you need anything, I'll be waiting over there".

Kaede looked back to Nyu trying to act as she always did. "Do you mind if we talk in private?"

The ditzy girl with her usual sunny appearance smiled as she agreed.

The twins then walked over to a nearby log that had washed up onto the beach. They then sat side by side with each other as they looked out to the afternoon sun which warmly bathed the sand.

Although they were alone, Kaede could not find her voice as she still had a hard time accepting the burden she was forced to shoulder.

After being silent for some time, Nyu decided to break the silence as she began to reminisce. "Do you remember the beach oneesan? We always came down here to play after school. I remember how we would always go digging for shells to add to our collection. When we were lucky, we would find hermit crabs running around. It was really funny how that one crab used a soda can as its new shell". She then looked to the sky as she leaned back supporting herself with her arms. "But it was really nice how okaasan would spend time with us during the weekend especially with her busy schedule. I sure do wish those time would come back".

" . .op . . .t . . ."

Nyu looked to her sister. "I'm sorry, what was that?"

"I said stop it!"

Nyu was startled at the outburst, "oneesan?"

Kaede looked towards the horizon as she did not dare to look at her. "You're not really my sister . . . . are you?"

Her eyes bulged before settling down to a saddened one. She then looked down into the sand. "No . . . . I'm afraid not . . . ."

Those words stung as her breathing started to become heavier. ". . . . you knew all along . . . . didn't you? . . . . Why didn't you tell me?"

Nyu shook her head as she continued to look down. "I was born into this world as your sister. However, I was also an anomaly that should've never been. Although not on a conscious level, I was always aware of the truth of what would happen to me. But regardless of this, I still loved you as though you were my sister".

Kaede then looked to her in shock as she continued.

"However I did not have the heart to tell you. You had the chance to start your life over and I did not want to take that away from you".

"But . . . . don't you hate me?"

". . . . ?"

"I caused all of this to happen" as Kaede recalled the memories of her past and present lifetime. "All this misery is my fault. So tell me! How can you say all that and not hate me for what I've done!"

Nyu blinked several times before reverting back to her usual happy demeanor, "because you still cared for me in both this world and the last".

". . . . "

"In the last world, I was created from you as shell for you recuperate from. But even though that was all that I was, you eventually saw me as more than that. Even though you had the chance to reclaim yourself, you chose me to live your life. Now even in this world you did not have to bring me along. You could've lived peacefully here with okassan, but yet you still wanted me with you".

"But I . . . ."

"I was still happy in both worlds. I had the chance to live my life. Although it was short, I still enjoyed every moment of it".

Kaede couldn't believe how unimaginably pure Nyu was. It was true that she cared for her in both of the lives she had lived. But for the life of her she didn't understand why, she had every reason to despise her for dirtying their hands as she was forced to watch as lives ended around her. Even through all of that, Nyu was always at her corner pushing and pulling her to make the right choices. Whenever she became lost, that girl would always be there to guide her back to the right path. Kaede then looked out to the ocean in contemplation. ". . . . What now?"

"That's up to you to decide oneesan" smiled Nyu. "You have the power to shape our destiny to whatever you wish it to be. All you need to do now is decide and things will progress from there".

"But what will happen to you?"

"You already know the answer to that".

Kaede closed her eyes as she saw the future unfold before her. But it was just as her mother had said, and just as she feared. For this world to survive, two of them must now cease to exist. But if that was the case then it was obvious to what she had to do. She then turned to Nyu.

"Oneesan?"

"You have an equal chance in survival as do I and Lucy. The fact is that only one of us may exist. So I will guarantee your survival as you'll now be the original". She then shut her eyes for a moment in thought before reopening them. "I will kill Lucy and then . . . . I will kill myself".

Nyu's eyes widened as her mouth slightly parted. "You can't! I won't allow you to do that!" But before she could make her case, she found herself in a tight embrace.

"It doesn't matter who you are to me" smiled Kaede. "You are special to me and no force in existence will ever change that".

"But you'll die!"

"I know . . . . but I don't really mind it too much. For I had my time in the sun and I really enjoyed the time we shared as sisters. It was a really nice while it lasted. So thank you for being there for me and good-bye as this will be the last time we'll see each other".

Nyu gasped before going into calm as she passed out. With a precise hit, Kaede sedated her as she went limp in her arms. She then held her tighter as she wanted to cry in what was going to happen soon. However that would make saying good-bye a lot harder than it had to be. "But I suppose it's admirable to die for such a cause". She then piggybacked her sister back to the main road where Kohta was waiting for them.

The tanned youth looked on with stupor as the twins approached him. "What happened?"

"She's just sleeping" said Kaede. "But I need you to do something for me now".

"Yeah, what is it?"

Kaede then handed Nyu off to Kohta as he now carried her on his back. "I want you to return to Maple Inn and keep her safe. And no matter what happens, stay there until the peace has returned". She then turned to leave.

"Wait! What are you talking about? Where are you going?"

The pink diclonius stopped moving but dared not to look back. "I . . . . I just have to go finish something. It's something that only I can do. But I promise it'll be over soon. I . . . . just don't want Nyu to interfere as this is something I must do alone".

". . . . Then why are you saying good-bye?"

Kaede's eyes bulged at his statement, but still kept her calm. "What are you talking about? I didn't say anything like that".

"You can't hide your heart from me. Although this is only a feeling . . . . when I look at you now . . . . I feel that I'm not going to see you again. As if you're telling me . . . . you're going to leave us soon".

The horned girl chuckled at his deduction. "Don't be foolish Kohta. You're acting like a child. Although I'm flattered that you'll miss me in the short time I'll be away. But you have Nyu, and she will be by your side. So don't worry because I'll be back".

Kohta's face dropped slightly as he wasn't buying a word that was coming out of her mouth. "Do you promise you'll return?"

Kaede felt a jolt in her system. But she then turned around to face him as she put on the best smile she could. "I promise I'll return".

". . . . Kaede-chan".

She then turned back as she waved her hand. "I'll be seeing you later then". But as she walked away tears could not help but appear, and the further she got the more painful it became.

* * *

"Will things be OK?" asked Mayu

"Of course they will" answered Yuka. At this time she was watching over Mayu, Nana and Mariko as they were currently at the hospital. After the attack on the inn, it didn't feel safe to be anywhere else. Whoever they were, they were vulgar enough to attack private property. So it was better off to lessen the chances of them acting directly against them by being in a public place. She then looked to Nana who was currently sitting bedside to her step-sister. "How is Mariko-chan doing?"

"She's resting peacefully. Although, I can't figure out why her presence disappeared again?"

"That's how you found her, right Nana-san?"

The young silpelit nodded to this. She then had an internal chuckle to what she remembered when she found her.

* * *

~ Flashback ~

After making their escape, Mayu and Nana ran quickly to find a safe place to stay for a while. But after some distance the young silpelit was forced to a stop.

"What's wrong Nana-san? Why did you stop?"

Nana looked around rapidly until she faced a particular direction.

"Where are you going?"

"I just need to check something out". At this time, it was quite late in the hour as there were barely any people around. However she didn't quite understand why she was feeling her presence here as she was supposed to be back at the inn fighting alongside Kaede.

Now after a bit of running they arrived in the shopping district which appeared to be disserted for the night. But upon arrival they found a three foot crater which completely obliterated that section of the road. "What happened here?"

"Who the hell does she think she is?"

The two adolescents looked up to see a child silpelit sitting on a nearby bench as she was bleeding and quite obviously hurt.

"Are you OK Mariko-chan?" asked Nana.

The girl looked up as she couldn't help but show a peeved expression. "Do I look alright to you?"

"But weren't you back at the inn? How did you end up here?"

"After all the help I gave her, this is how she treats me? She told me to retreat and I refused. But it didn't mean she had to throw me like a football across half the city!"

The two girls couldn't help but give a strained laugh at the way she phrased it. Considering the distance, Mariko had traveled roughly sixteen hundred meters in about three minutes before arriving where she was. " _. . . . that has to be a record_"

Mariko then glared at them. "You better not find this funny".

"No, not at all" waved Mayu nervously.

"Anyways let's go get you some help" then said Nana. " . . . . I just hope Kaede-san was able to escape" to which the other two agreed in thought.

They then picked the child silpelit up as they moved on to which the rest was history as they would eventually meet up with Yuka who left to find them. After being found, they went to the hospital as they received medical attention for the injured silpelit.

But not able to resist the temptation to ask, "So how did it feel to fly?"

~ End Flashback ~

* * *

"Nana-neechan?"

Mariko-chan! Are you feeling better now?"

The child silpelit nodded happily as she smiled towards her.

"Thank goodness" said Mayu

Yuka was glad to see them OK. But her expression went grim as she rubbed the side of arm. A part of her felt something drastic was going to happen soon.

* * *

She was now wondering through the downtown district as she slowly approached the final battle. Now whether she was tired or just buying time, it didn't really matter. Simply, she was marching to her death and she could not help but feel despair as the tears would not stop.

Kaede then held herself as she made her way through the area. " _. . . . In the end . . . . I couldn't tell him good-bye . . . ._" The feeling of leaving Kohta again a second time was too much. Her heart felt completely crushed the first time it happened. But now having to do it again . . . . "It's just too much . . . ." She wanted to at least leave him on a better note, but she knew him all too well. If she were to have told him the truth, Kohta would have followed her right to her death. But she could not bear for anything to happen to him. Even if she did tell him the truth how could she possibly explain everything that had happened? If she did tell, would he forgive her for her crimes? Kaede then shook her head as she didn't want to dwell on the 'what if' of things.

But if it was any kind of consolation, she would still be by his side after this. Although it wouldn't be her at least Nyu will be with him and that is as close of a happy ending that she could hope for considering her situation.

Now nearing the tower, she wanted to at least take the time to recall how she had lived the ten years of her borrowed time. If she had to generalize it as a whole it was the most wonderful decade she could have possibly wished for. She had family, friends, a lover, and overall a very nice life (if you factored out the evil organization that was after her).

As she began climbing up the stairs she didn't feel any regrets for the choices she had made in her life. Although there were many mistakes and stumbles along the way she accepted her faults as now she was ready to face her responsibility.

Now on the roof top, it was time to stare destiny right in the eye.

"It's about time you've made your way up here" said Lucy. She then looked over the rail as she squinted towards a particular sight. "And it would seem you decided to let her live" looking back to her. "So this is the choice you've made huh?"

"It's fine if it came to an end like this. Out of the three of us, Nyu is the only one qualified to live as her soul is still clean of our blood stained hands". Kaede then tightened her fist as her resolve felt stronger than ever. "So let's end this Lucy. I'm tired of feeling guilty over the choices you've made in your life. You decided for yourself what kind of person you wanted to be, and now I will bring this misery to a close".

Lucy stared silently for while until a small smirk appeared which gradually began to grow into an evil smile until shaping into a maniacal laughter. "You've got a lot of guts to say something like that to me. But that will make killing you all the more pleasurable!" In the next instant the entire roof top was blown away twisting and bending the metal as it flattened creating the stage for their final battle.

Kaede easily blocked the initial strike as she stood unfazed by the attack. "_I'm not afraid of you anymore Lucy and I'll make sure you fall this day as it's time we both paid for our crimes_". She then dashed forward, vectors at the ready, as she sent an innumerous amount at her enemy.

Lucy saw no threat in them as she swatted the attack away.

However that was only a diversion as she cut out a square in front of her flipping it up and dropping it on her other. But before it could even get near Lucy, it was cross-slashed as it landed harmlessly to her sides. The moment it was away, Kaede was no longer in sight. "Where did she go?" She then looked up to see that she had flipped into the air and was now behind her.

"I've got you!" as the horned girl not only threw her fist but every vector she had aiming to rip Lucy apart.

" . . . . too weak". Upon impact, a shock wave was created as Lucy not only caught her hand but every one of her vectors. "This is just too easy" as she then span her around before throwing her right into a metal pillar that was still standing in the area.

However, Kaede managed to dampen the kinetic force as she wrapped herself within her psychic hands which dented the pillar as she fell harmlessly from it. She then stood up a bit shaken at the intensity of the throw. "_At this rate I'm going to get myself killed. I need to end this quickly!_" Kaede now feeling the need for creativity bundled her vectors together to form a psychic mass in the form of a fist.

But in counter to this Lucy mimicked the same action as she caught the attack while parrying it away. She then slammed the giant vector into the ground leveling another floor of the tower as metal debris shot up as an aftershock.

Kaede dispersed her psychic mass forming multiple vectors again to shield herself. Although she reduced the damage, some shrapnel did penetrate her defense cutting her up slightly. The horned girl then cringed as she glared at Lucy. "How the hell am I supposed to beat her?" It wasn't the fact there was a difference in power. They were both even in that sense, but what divided them was experience and ambition. To an extent, their ambitions to win were even. However Lucy had more experience when it came to killing. Perhaps that was the problem as she was still hesitant when it came to taking life.

If that was the case, she had to let go of who she was to embrace the monster within to kill the monster before her. Kaede couldn't let her morals restrict her from what needed to be done, and for everyone's sake she needed to kill her no matter what. So giving her no room to counter she dashed forward once again as she launched her vectors surrounding Lucy in a three-hundred and sixty degree sphere having each of her psychic hands in maximum oscillation.

"Pathetic" as Lucy repelled her attack to which she sent her own vectors to perform the same act.

Kaede was now forced to play defensive as she enclosed herself in a psychic sphere. But it was too late as one vector got through. "Ahh!" She then fell to the ground as her left arm was now severed from her body. Kaede cringed at the overwhelming pain as blood gushed out from the wound.

"So this is all your resolve amounts too huh?" Lucy approached her as she grabbed the top of her head ready to do her ever so favorite method of death. "Don't worry, I'll give your head to our sister so she'll at least know you tried. But who knows she might actually put up a better fight then you did".

"I'm not done yet!" Kaede defied as she threw dust into her eyes. In that small window of time, she quickly grabbed her severed limb as she ran to a good spot to hide temporarily.

"You're only delaying the inevitable!" Lucy then attempted to search for her telepathically, but came up empty. "_Shit! She's hidden her presence_". At that irritation she began slicing up any place her opponent could be hiding.

"_Damn it, hurry up!_" thought Kaede as she attempted to reattach her arm. Her sadistic opponent was quickly drawing closer on her position and at the way things were looking, victory seemed like a most distant thing. " _. . . . What am I supposed to do . . . . ?_" As she closed her eyes to contemplate, a particular memory came up as this could've been a solution to her problem. "_It's too dangerous . . . . But it doesn't matter. I had no plans to survive after this battle_".

"I see you've come to face your death now" said Lucy. "Now prepare to die!"

But she was dumbfounded to see her attack easily stopped. Kaede then shot out her own single vector to which arrogantly Lucy tried to stop with one of her own. But to her surprise it didn't stop. "_What the hell is up with this difference in power? What is going on?_"

" . . . . If it were a battle of skill . . . . you could've killed me easily long ago. But what I don't have in experience, I must overcome you in power".

Lucy looked in surprise to her other's actions. "You couldn't have . . . ."

"I told you that Nyu will be the one to survive. So it doesn't matter what happens to me". Kaede's horns then grew longer and more defined. "This is how much I care for the people around me. People I love. People I cherish. So if it means losing what little time I have left then so be it".

Lucy gritted her teeth as she was now at a disadvantage. For her foolish other had completely released the restraints to her power. Just one of her vectors could easily beat all of hers. "_She must already know what the tradeoff is_" because in exchange for all that power, the user severely compromises the integrity of their body to which with overuse they will die very soon. "_But she'll definitely kill me before I can outlast her_". So having no choice in the matter she was forced to break her own limiter in order to survive.

Kaede smirked, "I thought so". Even if she couldn't kill Lucy she could force her to use up what little time she had causing her body to degrade. If time was all she needed then this was a battle she knew she could overcome. "Bring it!"

* * *

"Something feels terribly off" said Kohta.

". . . . What . . . . What happened?"

"Nyu-chan! You're awake!"

After washing the weariness from her face, her memory instantly returned at what happened.

"Hey watch it. What's gotten into you?"

The ditzy girl looked around frantically until she zeroed in on the tower. She then looked back to Kohta. "We have to stop her! We can't allow her to do this!"

"Calm down, what are you talking about?"

"Oneesan . . . . oneesan went off to die!"

Kohta stepped back at that statement. "What? What do you mean she went off to die? What is Kaede-chan doing?"

"Oneesan is . . . . Oneesan is . . . ." but before she could finish, the building they stood next to apparently exploded as large chunks of concrete and glass began to fall on them. But lucky for the tanned youth he had his pink angel standing right next to him who shielded them both from the disaster.

Kohta looked up in surprise. "What the hell was that? Was that some sort of bomb or something?"

"No" said Nyu sadly.

"Nyu-chan?"

" . . . . Oneesan and Lucy are currently fighting as maximum power. But because they are fighting as they are, there powers are running amok as the backlash is destroying the surrounding area".

"Lucy? Why is Kaede-chan fighting her? What is going on?" However a large zoom brushed by them as Kohta looked up to see several fighter jets flying right by them. "Is that the J.S.D.F.? Why are they here? What in the world is going on?" He then looked over to his pink companion to see her in a daze. "Nyu-chan?"

"The cycle is now nearing its end" squinting her eyes. "With the appearance of an internal threat the government has sent the J.S.D.F. to pacify it".

"Wait! You mean the Japanese special defense force is being sent to kill them?"

". . . ."

" . . . . no" as he looked horrified at the scene. But it wasn't too surprising considering the situation. Buildings are being blown up all around them, citizen deaths tolling in the hundreds, and no site of this event coming to an end. So the government sending in a military response seemed to be the only logical move. If they did have ties with the Kakuzawa organization then they were definitely not joking around about this as they will bring every bit of firepower they have to destroy the focal point of this threat. "Kaede-chan . . . ."

" . . . . I'm going . . . . I'm going to where oneesan is".

" What?"

"I too have a role to play in all this, and I can't let oneesan face this alone. Please go to somewhere safe until things have calmed down". But as Nyu prepared to walk away she could not take another step as someone had snagged her hand. "Kohta-kun?"

"I can't let you go alone. If that's where Kaede-chan is I want to go with you".

"It's too dangerous" said Nyu softly.

"I don't care! It's not right for her to face it alone like this. I want to be there for her too".

The ditzy girl looked to him before looking back to their destination. She knew it was a bad idea to allow him to come. But he too had his role to play. Knowing how this was all going to end, she wanted him to be there for it as well. "Just stay behind me and I'll keep you safe".

* * *

"Just die already!" Lucy screamed as she pressed her attacks harder.

"_Just need to last a bit more_" thought Kaede as blood began seeping out of her mouth.

With the maximum use of their powers both dicloniuses were reaching their peak of how much their body's could endure. The more they used their powers, the more entropy would build up within them to which point they would literally begin melting due to molecular instability. Of course the most logical thing for Lucy to do was escape if she wished to survive. However she was now caught in a rather intricate trap. If she had tried to run her opponent would easily cut her down and if she fought back then all she had to do was shield herself. Just as problematic were the jets. She had to spend the extra effort swatting them down to which Kaede had no intention of doing as that was the point, and that was to make her burn out first.

"Freeze!"

Kaede looked back, "You idiots! You're being a nuisance! Get out of here!" Along with the jets, helicopters were flown in for the purpose of sending in infantry units. But that was like sending sheep to the slaughter as they were clearly underestimating the situation. As much as she wanted to save them, it was not possible as she was already busy just trying to protect herself.

What seemed like hours of fighting was now drawing to a close as their battlefield was like a site out of a post-apocalyptic scene. Many corpses and destroyed buildings were littered all around them. It was quite a horrid site. Regardless of this, the two psychics were not giving in as soon one will stand and the other shall fall.

"It's already too late for you" said Kaede. "Just a little more and you'll be done for".

Lucy coughed out blood as she could literally feel her skin melting off. She then let out a low growl. "Why? Why do you care for these worthless animals? These creatures are so blind in their ignorance. So why must we as superior beings bow to them?"

The pink diclonius shook her head. "You're wrong about that Lucy. You forget that even with all our abilities we are still like those worthless animals as you so called them. We hate, we despair, and we despise just like them. But we are also capable of good things as well like forgiving and caring for those around us".

"To hear garage like that out of your mouth . . . . it makes me sick to think that we once shared the same body. So tell me, how can you compare us to them when you've experienced firsthand what horrors they're capable of? You've seen their ability to accept change! Do you honestly think a world like this will accept our kind? Wouldn't it be better just to erase them all and start over with a race of our own? So tell me why do you so strongly oppose me? Is what I'm offering so wrong!"

Kaede could empathize with Lucy as she was aware of the horrid things people were capable of. But to generalize like that was not fair because to judge an entire race based on a few bad apples . . . . it just didn't seem right. Perhaps in another lifetime she would have agreed with Lucy, but like in both them she grew to care for them and in turn they cared for her. So she was not going to fail them. "There's nothing wrong in trying to create of world where we can live peacefully. But to sacrifice the lives of billions just to do it, that I cannot allow. For this reason I will stop you!"

Lucy gritted her teeth at hearing the absurdity. "To die like this giving the world to these apes, I'd rather see this world burn to ashes!"

"Like a spoiled brat", but the matter quickly escalated to a new level as her opponent was now performing her insane and final act. In one push Lucy had full intent of ending all life on Earth by pushing every bit of her life force to her powers.

"If I am left with nothing, then I'll make sure neither of you will have anything either!"

Kaede clenched as she tried to contain Lucy. However that was an act easier said than done as the sadistic girl was putting her all behind the intent. "Do you really plan to end this world?"

It was overwhelming as Lucy was projecting an enormous tower of vectors which spiraled out towards outer space. With the power she was projecting alone, it was enough to split the Earth down the middle. At this point Kaede at her current maximum was only holding back a quarter of what Lucy was pushing out.

"It looks like this is the final run . . . ."

In pushing everything she got into her powers, Lucy was slowly turning into sludge as piece by piece of her began to fall off.

Kaede grunted, "At this rate she'll end up killing half the Earth. I have to end this now!" So betting her life on this last act, she poured every ounce of her life force into her powers to match Lucy. Immediately she began to expand her vectors to cancel out the opposition. The horned girl then coughed out more blood as she could literally feel her arms falling off now. " . . . . It's not enough. Lucy is now completely running on instinct . . . . I'll run out long before she does". But she could not afford for any more life to be lost. So quickly going through her options she looked around and saw as claymores that were still in good condition were strapped to the dead bodies of the soldiers. "One of those should be enough to incinerate both of us . . . . Ahh!" Kaede cringed as both her arms had just melted off followed by one of her legs. At this point half her face was about to follow suit. "I . . . . can't give up now!" So pulling whatever amount of willpower she had left, she reeled in the explosive as she held it between her and Lucy. "This is where it ends!"

"Oneesan, wait!"

Kaede's eyes widened as she looked back. "What are you doing here?" as she then spotted Kohta. "Why didn't you take her away from here?"

The tanned youth was speechless at the site before him. With all the power being generated in front of him, the psychic hands that were once invisible were now seeable as it was swinging erratically in front of him. At the epicenter of all this was a hovering corpse on one end and his best friend and lover on other.

"I can't let you do this. This is not your time to die yet" said Nyu.

"Nyu! Stay back!"

"I won't allow this to come to pass".

Kaede then felt an unusual sensation as if something was tugging on her. "What is going on?"

"_There is still so much for you to do_".

The horned girl found herself in the mental world. But finding herself there, she then saw as a mysterious door had appeared. The door then popped open as several vectors shot out grabbing her and pulling her through the threshold. As she quickly was shot through the hallway of light, Kaede managed to capture a slight glimpse as she saw Nyu move right pass her as she smiled and waved. Finally being pulled to the other side, the door suddenly disappeared as Kaede found herself back where she started. No, that wasn't right. This wasn't her mental world as it felt different then what it was supposed to feel like. So quickly pulling herself back to the physical world, she opened her eyes to see herself standing next to Kohta as she then turned back to see herself still in the middle of fighting Lucy. "Nyu! What have you done?"

"Kaede-chan?" Kohta questioned as he immediately recognized her mannerisms.

"Damn it Nyu! Don't do this! Switch us back right now!" However her sister could no longer respond as her mouth on her original body was no longer present. "_Nyu please, I'm begging you not to do this! Give me back my body and allow me to be the sacrifice. You don't deserve to die for my mistake!_"

The sisters then appeared back in their mental world as Kaede desperately tried to reenact her sister's mind-body switch, but Nyu resisted the connection as she had her back faced to her.

"_Please don't do this. Don't die like this, not in front of me . . . ._"

"_Oneesan, you should know better than anyone that one cannot redeem themselves through death but through life_".

" _. . . . !_"

"_Don't worry, we'll see each other again. This isn't good-bye, but so long for now_".

"_Please Nyu . . . . Don't die like this . . . . Don't die for my sake . . . ._ "

"_Oneesan, I want you to promise me something_".

"I _won't listen; I refuse to allow you to throw away your life like this!_"

"_Oneesan, please!_" Nyu then screamed out.

" _. . . . !, . . . ._"

"_Promise me you'll never lose your way again_".

". . . . "

"_Promise me!_"

" _. . . . I promise Nyu_".

The mental image of Kohta then appeared alongside Kaede. Nyu then looked back. "_And oneesan . . . . love Kohta-kun for the both of us_". The ditzy girl then showed her last brilliant smile "_it was fun while it lasted. So thank you for the good times_".

"Nyu!"

Now back in the physical world, Nyu pulled the pin setting the explosive into motion as the internal fuse began to burn.

"Don't!" Kaede screamed. However she could not move to her as Kohta was holding her back. "Let me go! I have to go to her!"

For as much as he wanted to go out as well . . . . he promised 'Nyu' to keep 'Kaede' safe to which no matter what happened he would prevent her from moving from that spot.

"_I refuse to die like this!_"

Nyu focused her attention back on Lucy as she continued to hold her back. "_It's time for us to go now. We were never meant for this world as this was simply meant to be_".

"_Why? Why do you protect the one who doomed us to this fate?_"

The ditzy girl gave a solemn expression as they were now face to face in the mental world. "_Perhaps in the next life you'll come to understand_".

Lucy dropped to all fours as she couldn't believe this was happening to her.

Nyu then walked towards her as she kneeled before Lucy. "_But don't worry, I'll keep you company until then_". She then hugged her head. "_So don't be scared anymore. You won't be alone this time_".

Her eyes widened as tears began to appear.

Now back in the real world the fuse had finally reached its end as it ignited. In one massive inferno, the explosive consumed both Lucy and Nyu vaporizing what was left of them. Kaede raised her vectors protecting herself and Kohta from the blast. But slowly as the smoke cleared, the pink diclonius walked towards the center to see that nothing remained of either her sister or her enemy. She then fell to her knees as overwhelming sadness began to consume her. Kaede held her face as she no longer had the ability to restrict her tears.

Kohta slowly approached from behind. Tears also escaped his eyes as he too could not cope with what happened. Right before him, he had lost someone most dear. But worse, he had no words to speak or actions to take as he couldn't do anything to save her. In addition, there was nothing he could do for the sister that was left behind as saying anything wouldn't be right. He then fell to his knees as all he could do now was hold the distressed girl from behind.

Kaede held his arms as she was desperate for the hurt to go away. As time continued, all the pair could do was cry at the loss of Nyu. She was a sister, a lover, and a good friend. But most of all she was a person that would remain in their hearts for all time.

* * *

Several weeks had passed since the tower incident. It was at this time that the existence of dicloniuses had spread to all four corners of the Earth.

There were many reactions to this news. But the more important was the presence of the virus which threatened to exterminate all of humankind.

However this news was quickly calmed as Kurama's vaccine was introduced to the world. This immediately made him and his team world famous as heroes of humanity.

But back to Kohta and his group, Maple Inn was up and running as they were now living there again. With news of Kakuzawa's organization being destroyed, they didn't have to worry about being attacked again. So long as they kept Nana and Mariko's secret that they were diclonius then the public had no reason to bother them.

"How is she doing?" asked Kohta as he walked into the room.

Mayu had finished swapping a wet towel over Kaede's forehead. "I'm sorry Kohta-san. There has been no change".

The tanned youth looked down sadly. After Nyu's death, Kaede fell into a coma to which she has been in a deep sleep since then. But before leaving he knelt down to her side kissing her on the forehead as he then got up to leave.

* * *

Kaede sat within her mental world in a catatonic state. During this time, she was watching her memories like a movie as she played certain events over and over again. At this time she was watching a time when things in her life were so much simpler and easy. She then buried her head in her knees. "_Why? Why did you have to go?_"

"_Why what oneesan?_"

The pink diclonius quickly looked up and felt like her heart was going to explode in joy. "_Nyu! You're alive!_" as she got up to hug her twin.

"_I told you we'd meet again_" smiled the ditzy girl.

Kaede stepped back slightly. "_But I don't understand. How is this possible?_"

"_Isn't that obvious oneesan? We just returned where we should be_".

"_We?_"

A door then appeared which apparently led to another section of her mind. "_Is that . . . ._"

Nyu nodded, "_Yes, Lucy is behind that door_".

"_She's here! She's in my mind?_"

The ditzy girl quickly waved her hands. "_You don't have to worry. She can't harm you anymore. But there is something important that must be done now_".

"_What can that be? We're already sharing one body_".

"_But we're not one soul yet. We are still three separate individuals in one form_".

Kaede then approached the door as she reached for the knob. "_So this is the real final test isn't it?_"

" _. . . ._"

" _. . . . I see_". Upon entering the room she found herself back at her old orphanage where she saw a child version of herself being picked upon by her old bullies. But specifically it was the time when they found her dog and were about to beat it to death. After the dog was killed, her child form killed them all mercilessly. She then looked to Kaede with contempt before exiting to the nearest door. "_No, wait!_"

But following her through the door, She then found herself on the train to Hokkaido where she saw her child form looking upon a saddened Kohta as he was cradling his dead sister. The girl then looked back to her before running across the hall through another door to which Kaede immediately followed.

Upon entering she then found herself at a mall where her teenage form was being restrained as Aiko was dying on the floor. Her child self looked up to her before running off again towards another door. As she entered it, it led to the facility where she was detained for several years where that version of her looked down to her. Her child form then ran again towards another door which then led to the final battle where she died with Kohta putting a lead bullet between her eyes.

The child then made her way to another door. As Kaede walked through the threshold the door closed behind her. She then examined the room to see her child self sitting in the middle watching a movie of memories of their previous life. The pink diclonius then slowly approached her from behind as she too watched what she was seeing.

" _. . . . I see now. You're the real Lucy aren't you?_"

" _. . . ._"

But there was no need for her to say anything as her current appearance told the whole story. "_You were the part of me that was still hurting all this time weren't you? The part of me that didn't want to forget the horrors people was capable of so that I wouldn't be vulnerable anymore_".

" _. . . ._"

"_But it's OK now. I promise that I won't desert you again and I will accept everything I am as you are a part of me just as much that I am a part of you_". She then approached her from behind as she hugged her child form. "_You don't have to be afraid anymore as I'll be here for you now_".

" _. . . . Do you promise?_"

Kaede nodded, "_Of course, your pain is my pain now and I'll never leave you behind again_".

Like a true child that she was, Lucy cried as she felt her burden become significantly lighter. Her body then turned into light as she disappeared right before Kaede. In that instant the horned girl understood everything Lucy has been through in her new life. Simply she was just hurting all this time as she was just trying to survive in this cruel world as she had no one to give her the warmth she so desperately craved.

"_I understand, and I'll now make things right. . . ._ " She then wondered her way back to where Nyu was waiting for her as she was wearing the same smile she always did.

"_Are you ready oneesan?_"

Kaede nodded as she extended her hand, "_until we meet again_".

In another flash of light, the horned girl now stood alone in her mental world as now she was a complete being again.

* * *

"Kyaaa!"

Kohta ran to the origin of the noise which was coming from Kaede's room. "What's wrong?" but was then surprised to see or the lack of what was there.

"She's gone!" Mayu exclaimed. "Kaede-san is not here!"

"But where did she go?"

The young brunette shrugged as she rallied everyone in the household to comb the vicinity for the currently missing pink diclonius. Even with Nana, she was having no luck in picking up on Kaede's telepathic signal.

Soon the search expanded outwards as everyone prayed that she wasn't going to do something foolish like suicide after the loss of her twin.

Kohta ran desperately around the neighborhood hoping to find her. With the loss of Nyu, he wouldn't know what to do if he lost Kaede too. But after running for what seemed like miles he stopped to take a breather until he heard it. " . . . . Is that Nyu-chan singing?"

He then moved to the origin of the sound to which he started to hear violin playing. "Kaede-chan?"

So following his ears he slowly but surely honed in on the sound until eventually he made his way to the source. There his lover sat on a rock on the beach as she played and sung the song Lilium that was so special between her, himself, and Nyu. Relief immediately washed over him to see that she was OK. He then slowly approached her from behind until he was right behind her. But when he was there, she didn't feel the same as she now felt . . . . different. In the years he has been with her, he recognized her aura. But the girl now in front of him felt like Kaede, but yet . . . . wasn't quite her. "Kaede-chan?"

The pink diclonius turned to face him showing a smile only Nyu would wear. "It's OK now, everything is just OK now".

Kohta unable to stop himself any further closed the gap between them as he held her tightly never wishing to lose her.

Kaede smiled as she returned his affection to which she then kissed him as they held each other.

Now, the world was moving again as her time could progress once more. This time she wasn't going mess up. As long as she keeps her head up and eyes straight, she'll never get lost again and that's the way she intended to keep it.

"_Thank you . . . . Nyu_".

To be continued . . . .

* * *

Author's notes: I'd like to thank everyone who has stayed with this story thus far. So please stayed tune for the final chapter as this will be the end of the Butterfly Effect.

**Snowy-Sonya** – Yes I'm afraid, the next chapter will wrap everything up for the Butterfly Effect. But after this is done, I'll begin writing the 'patch' stories to fill in the missing blanks that I either didn't have time for or required an 'M' rating to do. So if you're interested please stay tuned.

**ShadowKittenMewFan **– The manga was good as it filled in a few plot holes left in the anime. But anyways thank you for your critique and I hope you enjoyed your time reading this fic. So please stay tuned for the final chapter.

**TURP **– Darkest before the dawn is a term generally used in a lot of stories when the story reaches a certain high point of where everything intersects and threats to break, but then comes to a conclusion a moment later. As for your show, I have no idea.

So I thank you all for reading this fic and I further extend my gratitude if you can review it as well, and now I hope to see you all in the final chapter.


	30. Epilogue

Chapter 30: Epilogue

Synopsis: . . . . It's is now the end as everyone must now go on with their lives, and that is simply all there is to say . . . .

So what has now become of everyone?

Reminder: I do not own Elfen Lied or any characters associated with it

"talking"

_thoughts_

* * *

It was mid-afternoon as a pink haired woman took a quiet and pleasant stroll through the forest.

In was at this time she stopped to stare at a particular tree. The horned woman smiled fondly as she looked up to see sunlight penetrate through the leaves.

Kaede felt at peace now as she felt the warm radiant glow from above as the cool wind blew by her. "_How long has it been since I've been back here?_" A memory of her playing with Nyu crossed her mind as ghost like figures of their child selves laughed and played around the tree.

It has been ten years since the tower incident and the existence of her kind were now made internationally known.

"_Time sure does fly by fast, doesn't it?_"

In the initial years of psychics being introduced to the world, there were many responses to this. Many were intrigued by the idea of a new race. While others were downright afraid of them at the potential they were capable of which was either stemmed from jealously or fear.

Within the first few years, there were many violent acts between both kinds as neither could find even grounds to get along with each other. However, governments all around the world had decided to segregate the 'plague' within communities within each country they were present in. Although this was only a quick fix, tensions still existed between humans and dicloniuses.

"_But I wonder how everyone is doing now?_" then thought Kaede as she reflected on the people who she loved and cared for.

* * *

Mayu in ten years had blossomed into a beautiful young woman of twenty-four. After graduating from high school, she moved out of Maple Inn to make her way in the world as she wanted to pursue a college degree in law in Tokyo. But more specifically child law in reflection to her own past as she wanted to protect children from the experiences she had when she was young. "_But I never thought she would end up living with him_" as Kaede gave a grin.

It was not initially planned, but Bando ended up following after her as they lived with each other for the time Mayu pursued her career. It was never quite clear why the thuggish man went after her as she couldn't discern what his feelings were for her. But whatever the case he ended up opening his own private security firm which seems to be doing well for itself as Bando practically did all the jobs himself with much enjoyment on his part.

Kaede then cringed as she finally got around to facing him. "_Man that was scary_". In their encounter Bando wasted no time in trying to blow her head off.

"I thought they said she was dead! But it doesn't matter, that just gives me the pleasure on blowing her brains out myself" as Bando reached for his gun.

"Bando-san, please calm down" pleaded Mayu. "She's not who you think she is!"

"What!"

After much debate, Mayu managed to calm him down enough so that she and Bando could sit and talk. Eventually they made peace with each other as she then repaired his eyes and arms from a donor as a form of peace offering of no more hostilities between them. Although there still existed a bit of tension, that was still better than out right aggression.

* * *

Nana and Mariko eventually moved out and were now with living with Kurama as a family. But because of the diclonius persecutions, both of them had to be extra careful when venturing around in their everyday lives.

Thinking ahead for the future, Kurama created something extraordinary for helping his daughters. Using the diclonius vaccine as a template, he reengineered the formula to create a genetic patch to fix Nana and Mariko's D.N.A. so that they would age normally and in time if they choose to, to make a family of their own. But with the persecutions going on it was not safe to be living in an urban society. So scrounging up his 'savior' status for what it was worth, he took what money he could and is now living peacefully in the countryside with his daughters. Up to recent news . . . .

"What's wrong Nana? Why are you crying?" asked Kaede as this was a phone call a week ago.

"I was dumped again!" balled Nana. "I don't know what I'm doing wrong. How does Mariko-chan always have her boyfriends eating out of her hand?"

The pink diclonius sighed at this comment. "Unlike her, she can get away with dating in her own age group".

"But I'm only seventeen!"

"In the body of a twenty-four year old woman so of course you were going to run into problems". Kaede then sighed again. "So how goes your shop?"

"We've been doing well selling groceries and other commodities".

"Not messing up the register right?"

"No, everything has been OK over here. I've been helping out papa restock everyday while Mariko-chan attends the local school here".

"That's nice, and it's good to hear no one in the countryside is causing you guys any trouble".

Nana smiled on her end. "We were worried at first. But it's good to see that humans were not as all bad as we thought they were".

Kaede smiled at this too. "Well that can happen when you stop a flood from destroying the town. But it's nice to hear from you again. We'll visit when we can OK?"

"OK! I'll tell papa and I'll prepare tea this time when everyone comes over".

* * *

The pink diclonius then thought about Nozomi and her situation with her father. "_But it's good that things worked out between them_". After a strong confrontation with him, it came to light he didn't want her to sing as he didn't want her to die. Like her mother, Nozomi shared the same quality of being able to project a voice unlike any other. However it was an unnatural formation due to a genetic mutation which afforded their vocal cords to produce such a sound. But the problem was it wasn't meant to last. Nozomi's mother was a very proud woman who held great pride over her voice. During her time, she was a big opera star known to many by name alone. But the day she lost her voice was the day she lost her life. Shortly after learning her vocal cords were unfixable she committed suicide in despair.

Her mother who was a proud woman could not bear the loss, than how could his weak will daughter?

"I want to sing!" Nozomi screamed out.

The elder was surprised to see his daughter stand up to him like that. "What nonsense is this? Do you dare speak back to me?"

The shy girl stepped back in fear, but then stepped forward again to reassert her hold. "I want to follow what I love. I know you're scared after what happened to mother. But this is the path I want to choose".

Nozomi's father gritted his teeth at his daughter's defiance. It's true he wanted his daughter to be happy, but not at the cost of dying for it. "I refuse to accept this! If you decide to go down this path then you're on your own from now on!"

Nozomi felt her very core shake at that threat. She loved singing, but she loved family just as much. This was a choice she didn't want to make.

"If that is how you feel then that is how it's going to be" said Kaede as she made her presence known in the room. She then took the brunette's hand as she proceeded to leave the house.

"Wait! What do you think you're doing?"

The horned girl stopped momentarily to look back. "When you're ready to talk again, we'll talk". After leaving the house it became apparent Nozomi was now crying.

"I don't want to leave him like this. Not on terms like that . . . ."

Kaede then hugged her to calm her down. "Don't worry, it's was only an act. Your father really does care for you. He just doesn't want you to go the same way your mother did'.

". . . . But what do I do now sempai?"

"Just listen to where your heart wants to guide you and everyone at Maple Inn will support you a hundred percent of the way".

Now at their current time, Nozomi was making quite a career for herself as she was becoming a fast rising star who will soon take her performance national as everyone would know her name. Concerning her voice problem, it was now a moot point as Nozomi would visit her personally once every mouth to get her vocal cords retuned to prevent breakdown. But in relation to her father . . . . well . . . . Kaede laughed to herself at remembering seeing the man trying to discreetly buy a ticket to one of her concerts. But in time he eventually came around as he accepted her path and was overjoyed to learn that she would not share her mother's fate due to her 'special' monthly treatments. Although he was a uncomfortable with the idea of a diclonius treating her. However, if his daughter trusted her then there was not really much room to speak as she was the one keeping her dream alive.

* * *

Aiko was currently living her dream as she traveled all around Europe painting the beauty of the world. Although it's been a bit difficult to maintain contact with her seeing as she didn't carry a cell phone and her mail took next to forever to get back to her. But the last she heard, she was going to visit Japan soon in aiding her mother with the opening of her exhibit. However on this particular day . . . .

Kaede found a mail in her box as she was ecstatic to see it was from Aiko. She quickly opened it to read its content. "Dear Kaede-chan, I'm sorry for making conversations this difficult with mailing. But I'm pleased to tell you that I've been doing well and I can't wait to see you again. Let's meet at our usual place OK?"

The horned girl smiled fondly to this, but that was until she read the last part. "P.S. I want to paint another one of 'those' portraits with Kohta-san again. You know what I mean".

Kaede blushed deeply to this as she crumpled the paper, dumped it in the trash, and then set fire to the entire bin as it roared in a blazing inferno. She then heaved as she couldn't have done this process fast enough. She then sighed letting out a bit of a blush as she pinched the rim of her nose. "_Note to self, I need to burn 'that' painting as soon as I find it_".

* * *

Now Yuka after graduating immediately found work as a teacher at a private school back at Yokohama. Things have been going well for her as she enjoyed her job very much. But also it was there that she found a good friend turned boyfriend turned husband after six years of their union. Things have been good for her from everything she has heard thus far.

It was a few days ago that the two sat down at a café to have a chat with each other.

"So how have you been Yuka?"

"I've been well. We just recently came back from our trip at Morocco".

Kaede leaned in as she gave a bit of a smirk. "So did you do anything . . . . fun?"

The brunette blushed to this as she waved her hands in defense. "You can't ask something like that Kaede-chan! That's just too embarrassing for me to say!"

"_I see_" as she giggled to herself. "So how is that Mono . . . . Mino . . . . Mano . . . ."

Yuka sighed at this. "You never could remember his name could you?"

"Sorry, it's just his name is so hard to recall since it's so hard to pronounce". She then took a sip of her tea. "So how are the kids doing? Driving you crazy?"

The brunette shook her head. "Teaching isn't so bad. Although there are a few troublemakers, the greatest reward is knowing you enlightened the mind of a youth to a grander world out there".

"Heh, quite the optimist I see." They soon came to a conclusion of their talks as they both got up to leave. "It's nice to see you again Yuka. You should visit us more often".

"It's not like I can up and leave work just to visit you two in Hokkaido".

"Yeah that's true, but visit when you can. It would be nice to talk more like this again".

"Well, see you later then" as they hugged and parted ways with each other.

* * *

Just like that everyone left in that order as the only two occupants left at Maple Inn were herself and Kohta. Although they had each other, it was a bit lonely as everyone had already parted ways to pursue their own lives. Like birds, they all had spread their wings and had flown off now leaving just the two of them at the nest known as Maple Inn.

But soon came the day when they too had to fly off on their own. As they finished cleaning up the residence they both stood outside bag in one hand with the other holding each other as they looked to see as Maple Inn was soon going back to sleep.

"It was fun while it lasted wasn't it?" asked Kohta.

"Yeah" replied Kaede and with that the building once known as home fell into slumber as the pair then entered the next chapter of their lives.

In her past existence, she had spent a lifetime taking life. So it was only fair that she spent this one saving it.

So entering medical school was an obvious choice for her as Kohta not wanting to be apart did the same as they both studied hard to achieve their goals. With the use of vectors, the most obvious field for her to choose was surgery as she could do a lot of good in that career. But knowing the complications in the surgical room and what was necessary for the process, she couldn't do it alone. So wanting to support her decision, Kohta studied to become an anesthesiologist.

After graduating and finishing their residency, the pair would then go off to be well known in the medical world as 'doctors with the hands of god'. Every surgery the pair has ever done has never failed as their patients always made a full recovery afterwards. It was a mystery amongst many doctors how they managed to perform their impossible miracles as it usually took a team of five just to do any complicated surgical procedure. Although during their early residency some colleagues came to learn Kaede's secret, but respected her origin after seeing her ability save lives.

When you have psychic hands that could effectively multi-task while having the ability to cut more accurately then a scalpel on the cellular level with the addition of piecing things back together in the same fashion, why stop a person who could get the job done better?

Due to her renowned surgical abilities, she and Kohta were usually called upon when needed to perform an impossible task as deemed by modern medical techniques. Seeing that money was no longer an issue for either of them, they both tended to devote their time to charity to help those who could not afford to pay for medical treatment.

* * *

Now back in the present time and place, a grim look appeared on the horned woman as she recalled recent events.

Unknowingly, Kurama had opened Pandora's Box with the invention of his genetic patch for silpelits. In a generation or two the diclonius race would have practically become extinct only filling a small page within humanities history. But knowing human greed and wariness with each other, what country in the world could resist the idea of psychic soldiers? After seeing the disaster that occurred in Japan, it was quickly apparent how much more effective a diclonius was in comparison to any modern weaponry known to man. So in the public's eye, they were a race that was controllable and soon to disappear. But to a diclonius, they were well aware at how their race was still thriving as countries all around the world gathered them, breed them, and improved them to become weapons to protect their country of origin.

Kaede frowned at this as she along with many support groups tried to build a bridge of understanding between the two races as there were still many boundaries that needed to be removed. But with people in seats of power using dicloniuses like this, it was going to be a difficult journey.

But even with all these hardships she was at least happy to know some other things.

"Okaasan! Okaasan! We found a blue butterfly! Come see!" exclaimed the overly ecstatic five year old who ran up to her.

Kaede smiled to the child as she was a spitting image of her sister when she was that young. "Of course Nyu, let's go see it".

The small child smiled as she held her mother's hand to guide her there. Upon arrival, she then saw a five year old version of herself as the butterfly rested calmly in her hands.

"Look mother, isn't it beautiful?"

Kaede petted her daughter on the head as she smiled to her. "Yes Yuki, it is very beautiful indeed".

Yuki blushed a bit at receiving her mother's attention.

Nyu giggled as she went to her twin leading her to a flock of butterflies as they began to dance around them.

The pink diclonius watched happily as her twin daughters were as happy as they could be. In absolute secrecy along with the aid of a close medical friend she gave birth to twins of her own much to her great surprise since the ultrasound only showed one. Regardless, it didn't really matter as she was still happy to have them both.

Kaede then placed her hand to her cheek as she was deep in thought about something. After the tower incident when her three parts became one again she found herself capable of doing things she wasn't initially able to do. Examples of this were her sister's ability to sing or Lucy's expert usage over vectors. But the day she found out she was pregnant, she seemed to have lost those abilities as she was no longer able to do them as well as she used too. But at this thought, "_Are they Nyu and Lucy's reincarnations?_" Such a thing was simply too silly to contemplate as it was just too ridiculous. But she would be foolish to completely disregard it as she has experienced weirder stuff before. Not to mention it would explain why she lost some of her talents.

But looking to her daughters now it didn't really seem to be the case as they didn't seem to recall anything from their previous counterparts. Trying to rationalize this, she could have simply been getting rusty to why her talents were getting sloppy.

Regardless if it was one of these two reasons, she and Kohta named them as such. If Yuki was truly the reincarnation of Lucy then it would be appropriate to give her this name as this would be a new beginning for her.

Yuki meant two things. The first was courage as she refused to allow the world to cave in on her no matter how tough things got, and the second meaning was snow as she now had a clean slate to begin a new from.

"Mother, I think it's about time to go now".

Kaede looked to her watch as she then nodded. So taking her daughters hands respectfully one on each side they began to descend the hillside.

"Okaasan, what was so special about this place?" asked Nyu.

"I would like to know that as well too" then said Yuki.

The pink diclonius smiled to them as they continued to descend. "This is a special place where I used to play with your aunt, and it's also a place where I met your father for the first time".

"Kawaii!"

"That's nice, but is that all there is to this place?"

"Well it's a place I like to visit as a memorial to your aunt. Sorry for dragging you two along like this".

Yuki shook her head. "No, it's fine. I can see why you and auntie liked this place".

"Yeah!" chimed Nyu. "Perhaps we may even find our own prince charming here someday".

Kaede chuckled at this. "Just make sure not to fall in love with the same man as it became complicated between your father, your auntie, and I".

The twins then looked to each other in confusion.

The elder woman chuckled again. "I'll explain when you're old enough to understand" and with that they made their return trip home to Kohta, the husband and father they all loved.

Along the way, Kaede could sense her children's future as it will not be easy for them growing in a world that despised there kind. In a world filled with misunderstanding, peace was going to take a while to build between the species. But she and Kohta was proof that it could happen someday.

Unfortunately she would not live long enough to see it occur as it would take over a century for the barriers between humans and diclonius to crumble. With her ability to perceive the future, she saw as the world entered a cold war of psychics as it was only a pinprick away from entering world war 3. But before that could happen, she saw as a lone child stood in the epicenter of the world with only their willpower and strength holding them up. In this child's bravery, they turned the world's madness into a revolution that would forever change humanity bringing about a peace never thought possible to anyone.

Kaede then looked down to Yuki as smile began to appear.

"What is it mother?"

"Nothing, just a thought I was having".

And with that came the conclusion of her story as her world began turning once more.

In her final thought as she looked ahead towards the future, "_. . . . Everything was going to be alright_" as they were now returning home.

Das Ende

* * *

Author's Notes: I hope everyone had a fun time reading this fic as much as I had a fun time writing it. On another note, I'll now begin writing the patch story "Another Side, Another Story" which will fill in the few blanks I left around in a few chapters. So if you're interested please read. But as a cautionary warning, the patch story will be mostly lemon. So read at your peril.

On to other things, I'd like to give special thanks to: **alvarorbenavides**, **redrain8696**, **Snowy-Sonya**, and **TURP** for your continued support in helping me keep this story alive as your reviews pushed me to finish.

Also special thanks to: **Zaraenis**, **CodelyokoFan23**, **TitanNegro**,** Urahara144**, , **diadem15**, **ForcedDj**, **RadonMax, Chungdoo**, **DelVarO**, **Leeko**, **Mr. Eclipse**, **ShadowKittenMewFan**, **yourdyingwish**, **Candycane418**, **Blood Seraph**, **Morality0duality**, **Lily of Chastity**, **Spazzzh20**, **Deviltrigger** **Dante**, **KTWizard**, **itsuken**, **VideoSpud**, **Wolf Ness**, **Dark09**, **Kitsunelover300**, and** amaiyuuki**.

Without your critiques, this story would be nowhere near what it is today. So thank you for taking the time in giving me your input and helping me make this story what it is.

So thank you everyone once again for reading and I hope to see you all again.


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